Plan to ban photos of Mt Warning for tourism and business slammed

In the wake of a controversial attempt to ban images of Uluru - even drawings in cartoons - questions are being raised about strict new rules being imposed on Mt Warning in NSW.

A ban on using images of the iconic North Coast Mt Warning mountain for tourism or business purposes – under a new Aboriginal management plan - should not go ahead, says One Nation MP Mark Latham.

Speaking after a federal government department ordered a Melbourne newspaper cartoonist to remove a cartoon of Uluru last weekend under “cultural” grounds, Mr Latham said it was “ridiculous” that image restrictions were being proposed for NSW national parks.

The Perrottet Government has given control of the formerly public Wollumbin National Park and Mt Warning to an Aboriginal consulting group, who have banned public access, and even claimed that females going on the land would make people sick.

Environment Minister James Griffin said “this step recognises the importance of protecting its cultural value” when announcing the changes, which are detailed on the website of National Parks and Wildlife.

But under the new Aboriginal group plan, the public is banned from using images of the park “for tourism or business promotion” or “advertising purposes”.

A view of Wollumbin National Park - Mount Warning - which was an iconic hiking location until the Perrottet Government gave control to an Indigenous consulting group who have banned the public.

It even states that use of the images of the mountain had encouraged people to climb it and this had “destroyed” traditional law and custom.

In the case of Uluru, formerly known as Ayers Rock, Herald Sun cartoonist Mark Knight was astonished to be told last week that he was not allowed to use the rock in an editorial cartoon and required a permit.

Mount Warning offers spectacular views of the east coast and is the first site in mainland Australia to see the sunrise - but even using images of the famed mountain by local businesses or for tourism are set to be banned.

Parks Australia said that even a drawing the landmark Uluru was not allowed under its “commercialisation of their Indigenous Cultural Intellectual Property” – until the paper engaged lawyers and the bureaucrats backed down.

“The Herald Sun incident shows that what was formerly public property is now at risk of being appropriated and controlled by sectional interests in ways the public finds bizarre,” Mr Latham said.

“There’s no reason why national parks and state reserves should be under the control of Aboriginal groups who have never made any land rights claims to these sites.

“Given the nature of the parks, it’s not clear what special Indigenous affinity or use they have.

“They should be fully public assets available for open public use, without ridiculous restrictions like permission to use images.”

One Nation leader in NSW Mark Latham has raised questions about the public bans on Mt Warning. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

Local businesses have used images of Mount Warning in the past - but won’t be allowed under new rules - Mount Warning Honey took out five prizes at the Sydney Royal Easter Show in 2016.

North Coast Indigenous woman Stella Wheildon, who is collating evidence for an international humans rights case highlighting the lack of women’s access rights to the mountain, said Uluru and Wollumbin have very different legal tenure/transfers systems, so could not be compared.

But she said there is “no precedent for copyright for a mountain image”.

“It appears to be a misuse/misinterpretation of cultural and intellectual copyright moral rights legislation, but again there is no basis for copyrighting a mountain’s image,” she said.

A spokeswoman for Minister Griffin said the government had not imposed, nor intended to impose, restrictions on Wollumbin images.

Mr Griffin gave that answer to Mr Latham when quizzed in parliament about the image ban - but also added in his official answer last month that: “The Aboriginal Place Management Plan includes a request by the Aboriginal community that images taken within the Wollumbin Aboriginal Place are not used for tourism or advertising purposes.”

A community protest group will demonstrate against the public bans on January 14 at Murwillumbah.

Right to Climb advocate and bushwalker Marc Hendrickx is calling for an inquiry by the NSW Ombudsman into the decision and the National Parks and Wildlife’s handling of the issue.

“The notion that an image of a natural feature can be owned and controlled by a particular group is ridiculous and tantamount to censoring awe and wonder,” he said.

“The only owner is the person who took the photo, or drew the picture and they should be free to share those pictures for pleasure or profit.”