Allan government exploring how it can let people continue to rock climb at world famous Mt Arapiles

The Allan government is exploring how it can let people continue to rock climb at Mt Arapiles, after massive backlash over controversial plans to shut down the site due to cultural heritage.

The Allan government is exploring how it can let people continue to rock climb at the world famous Mt Arapiles.

Amid huge community backlash over controversial plans to shut down the site due to cultural heritage, the Herald Sun understands discussions are underway to find a solution that will let people still climb parts of the internationally recognised rock climbing site while also considering and maintaining cultural significance for Indigenous people.

After a series of reports by the Herald Sun into the concerns of local climbing communities, the government on Friday evening announced it would extend consultation on the Mt Arapiles draft management plan until February 14 next year in a move they say will give the community more opportunities to make submissions.

Picture: David Geraghty

A government spokeswoman said new Parks Victoria interim CEO Graeme Dear will lead consultation “to make sure the community’s views are heard”.

It comes after Environment and Outdoor Recreation Minister Steve Dimopoulos this week ousted Parks Victoria CEO Matthew Jackson and ordered a full review of the agency amid concerns over park closures, unfinished trackworks and notably the handling of the closure of Mt Arapiles climbing routes.

But rock climbing representatives have accused the government of throwing Mr Jackson under a bus to wipe their hands of the highly contentious matter, which could spell huge trouble for Labor ahead of the next state election.

The tight-knit town of Natimuk in the state’s west, which relies on rock climbers travelling to the area which is known internationally as one of the best locations on the planet, said a probe into the crisis-plagued taxpayer funded agency is good progress.

But local MP and deputy Nationals leader Emma Kealy called on Premier Jacinta Allan to “immediately scrap the ban” or sack her Minister.

“If the appalling work that led to Labor’s ban on rock climbing in the Grampians and Mt Arapiles warrants sacking the Parks Victoria CEO, then the Minister has no choice to immediately scrap the ban. If these discredited rock climbing bans aren’t immediately reversed, the Minister should be sacked too,” she said.

Picture: Aaron Francis

The Natimuk community have been outspoken about Parks Victoria’s refusal to involve them in any consultation relating to the “secretive” bans.

Natimuk pub licensee Bill Lovel said the entire community had become fractured by the process.

Horsham based teacher Brendan Williams, who moved from Maine to live near the world famous rock climbing area, said he is considering moving his family back to the United States if the bans go ahead.

“This is a very significant development and it shouldn’t be downplayed that the Victorian government has taken an extreme approach to this so-called problem,” he said.

“It seems like a very hostile government towards outdoor recreation.”

Doctor Felix Ritson, who moved to Natimuk so he could climb three times a week, said the review presented an “avenue for real change” but Parks Victoria must be directed to engage with the climbing community and local stakeholders.

But Australian Climbing Association Victoria treasurer Mike Tomkins said introducing a new CEO to Parks Victoria wouldn’t come close to addressing the concerns that climbers and outdoor enthusiasts had if the legislation that the agency operates under is not reviewed.

“It’s the legislation that is the problem … and climbing is just the tip of the iceberg,” he said, claiming that axing Mr Jackson was just “an attempt to save the job of the Environment Minister Steve Dimopoulos”.