Right to Climb

Minister Sharpe has completed her official duties in regard to the e-petition with the standard head in the sand response (see copy below), joining the same congo line of bureaucratic indifference established by the previous Minister Matt Kean . If this gets your goat up join us at the Mt Warning carpark on 3rd of August at 10:00am when we celebrate the 95th anniversary of the park and recreate the 1929 opening ceremony. Link to event .

I've been asked a few times about issuing a Freedom of Information request on the cultural reasons behind the closure of Mt Warning.  Redacted! I completed such a request back in February 2021. This resulted in the release of a large amount of information including the fact that NPWS had a closure date in place while they were playing the game of rolling "temporary" closures throughout 2020-2022. It also revealed NPWS had made a substantial error in providing risk information about the park to the public and then Minister Matt Kean (See this post ).  Documents were requested that related to discussions between NPWS and the Wollumbin Consultative Group. The WCG are the secretive group NPWS engaged to provide advice on Aboriginal issues in the park. It is now well established (see my book ) that the group does not represent the interests of the Group with the closest cultural connection to the mountain, the Ngarakwal people, who encourage visitors to climb the summit. All t...

Some recent media reports about the on going saga of the unjust, disgraceful and racist closure of the Mt Warning Summit track.... 'Heartbreaking': Tourist industry furious as Mount Warning remains closed due to Indigenous heritage concerns, 'costing industry $50 million' Lauren Forbes Skynews Calls are growing for a famous walking track that once welcomed 100,000 visitors per year to be reopened, after the site was closed during the pandemic and never reopened due to the area's cultural significance to Aboriginal Australians.    Ngarakbal Elder Sturt Boyd, a custodian of the land, has challenged the claims of the WCG, labelling them false and saying he wants the track open to all Australians. “ It’s a disgrace, I’ll say it straight. That’s racism… that is racism and here’s why they put that piece up, Bundjalung put it up there, ” Elder Boyd said. Mr Boyd is the son of Ngarakwaal elder Marlene Boyd, daughter of the last Gulgan or keeper of Mount Warning, who long ad...

 My piece on Quadrant online. Thanks to Adrian Hoffman, Alan Keen and Sturt Davies Boyd. for their clear message about the stupid wall at Mt Warning. Quadrant article...  Another Wall in Need of Felling Following a protest climb to the summit of Mt Warning on Australia Day 2024 by members of Save our Summits Australia, Reopen Mt Warning Facebook group and local Ngarakwal custodian Sturt Davies Boyd,  the libertarian John Ruddick MLC suggested a parliamentary petition with a view of generating enough signatures to trigger a debate on the access issue in the NSW Legislative Council. Labor’s upper house leader and environment minister, Penny Sharpe, agreed to a debate if 10,000 signatures of NSW residents supporting reopening were to be achieved by May 2, 2024.  Over the course of the next three months through a combination of promoting the petition on social media, countless kilometres devoted to dropping off about 30,000 flyers, community meetings, media interviews an...

HUGE thankyou to everyone who signed and special thankyou to those who went out of their way and helped promote our Reopen Mt Warning petition. We ended up with 10943 signatures. This met our goal, triggering a parliamentary debate and is an outstanding effort. We would have got a lot higher if 1000s affected living in SE QLD or interstate could have added their names. The misplaced agenda of some bushwalking and climbing groups who declined an opportunity to join us in helping save access to our wonderful mountain summit did not help, but we got the required numbers regardless. Let's hope they give a voice of thanks when the mountain is reopened (fingers crossed), and the mountains and bush tracks they frequent also remain open thanks to this fight. Look out for the debate in NSW Parliament next week, Thursday May 9 from 10:15am. Tune into the NSW parliamentary website via the link below if you can't make it in person. https://ponsw.events.corrivium.live/legislativecoun...

  The Great Mt Warning Debate NSW Upper House - 9 May. Join John Ruddick in defending our right to access our natural wonders in our National Parks. Timing - debate in the NSW Upper House is now set for May 9. The mechanism for the debate (called a matter of public importance) is designed to override government business. The first allotment of government business on a sitting day is approximately 10 30 am but this can vary depending on other business occurring beforehand.  Parliament starts at 10 am and can be viewed via the link below, recommend you watch from about 10 15 am. ( I will repost the link on the day). https://ponsw.events. corrivium.live/ legislativecouncil I will be present and it would be good to have 5-10 other members present to support the debate. If you live in Sydney get in touch and we can meet outside Parliament house beforehand (6 Macquarie St Sydney NSW 2000). If you want to come down from the north - plan your visit now.  As the lead pet...

I appeared on Michael Gray Griffith's Cafe Locked Out show on April 23, 2024. Link to video HERE . Some notes I made for the show... Re-Open Mt Warning The distinctive peak of Mt Warning in northern NSW was named on 16 th May 1770  by Captain James Cook as a warning for dangerous shoals along the coast further north. The first recorded ascent was in 1868 by Frank, Lou and Arthur Nixon with Aboriginal men Nelson and Maloney. Mt Warning and shield – peak on left, photo by Steven Gibbs Locals in the nearly town of Murwillumbah saw the potential of the mountain to attract visitors owing to the awe inspiring views of the north coast available from the summit, and in 1909 volunteers completed a 4.4km track to the summit. The last 200m or so involved an adventurous scramble up a steep rock slope. Construction included numerous drystone walls and steps worthy of heritage listing but ignored by its current managers, the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS). On August 3, 1929...

Mark your calenders!

Some notes and photos of SOS community meeting and protest climb 12-13 April 2024. Mountain legends (thanks SOS) Community Meeting 12 April Mt Warning Hotel Uki. Thanks to everyone who attended the Community Meeting at the Mt Warning Hotel in Uki on Friday night. Speakers included Craig Evans, myself, the great Andrew Flanagan and Uki local Amulet Ov Acorn with some welcome input, facts and questions from the audience. Video of my speech. For me it was wonderful to meet people who have assisted with our petition and others who shared wonderful stories about climbing and working on the mountain. The petition should break the 10k mark next week (Broke 10k on afternoon of April 15). I understand any debate in Parliament will likely be in the first or second sitting week in May - keep an eye out. To get better than 10k on what is a rather obscure NSW Parliamentary petition system that excludes legitimate stakeholders from SE QLD and the rest of the country is a great achievement. Thank you...

Recently appeared on the Bolt Report with Andrew Bolt discussing closure of rock climbing at the world class climbing spot - Mt Arapiles in Victoria and what we can do about it.   Marc on the Bolt Report 8 April 2024 Video link below Help us save Mt Warning by signing our NSW e-petition.- Link HERE