Aboriginal group outraged after 'unnecessary' move threatens to derail unpopular plan to ban Aussies from Mount Arapiles
- National Park rock climbing sites closed
- Indigenous group wants no public say
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An Indigenous group has furiously rejected the notion that the public should be consulted over the closure of popular rock climbing sites.
Mount Arapiles in western Victoria is renowned for its spectacular rock formations but this has led to a bitter fight between climbers and the traditional owners, who want popular climbing spots in the area closed for cultural reasons.
Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation chairman Dylan Clarke has written to Premier Jacinta Allan blasting a draft management plan that has called for public consultation on closing half of the Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park climbing routes.
Mr Clarke called the planned public consultation along with working groups 'unnecessary and unprecedented' as he accused a 'radical rock climbing minority' of 'launching a misinformation campaign aimed at undermining cultural heritage laws'.
'Cultural heritage laws for the entire state of Victoria are under attack,' Mr Clarke wrote.
He said the Premier needed to 'remain steadfast during this critical time and not to deviate from the current plan' of closing the climbing sites or else bring into question the state's cultural heritage laws.
Australian Climbing Association Victoria president Mike Tonkins responded by asserting all Victorians should have a say on how public land is used.
'You can't deny consultation for public land,' he told the Herald Sun.
Mount Arapiles in western Victoria is renowned for its spectacular rock formations that attract climbers
'Parks Victoria has to manage the parks, and it has to manage the parks for everyone, and so, consultation with different user groups is absolutely essential to achieve that.'
Residents of a nearby small country town have rallied against the ban with local publican Bill Lovell arguing the closure would devastate the town of around 500 residents.
'If the climbers don't come here, the staff don't get hours,' he told A Current Affair.
Amanda Wilson from Lister House Medical Clinic in nearby Horsham, said that four of her 17 doctors relocated to the area specifically to be close to the rock climbing landmark.
'To lose 25 per cent of our doctors, we would have an impact on 30,000 patients,' she
Following public backlash against closing half the climbing routes, environment and tourism minister Steve Dimopoulos announced Parks Victoria chief Matthew Jackson would leave the organisation, with Graeme Dear named as interim boss.
Auditing firm Korda Mentha has also been engaged to conduct an independent review of the agency, that will include its financials and performance.
The review will focus on enabling the agency to open up more forests and state parks to the public.
There have been a growing number of complaints that the agency is failing to meet goals on providing public access to vast tracts of land.
Mr Dimopoulos said that it was clear 'Parks Victoria's current operations need to be improved to meet community expectations'.
Mr Tomkins said sacking Mr Jackson was not the answer to the agency's fundamental problems and 'was an attempt to save the job of Mr Dimopoulos'.
'It's not even a band aid fix — the captain of the ship is not the issue,' he said.
'The review of the Parks Victoria Act is what is needed. It's the legislation that is the problem... and climbing is just the tip of the iceberg.'
Ms Allan has plans to convert another 440,000ha of state forest into new national parks.
