Indigenous group wants public locked out of Mt Arapiles ban talks

An Indigenous group leader has sent a fiery letter to the premier, demanding she cease public consultation on climbing bans and warning her against siding with the “radical rock-climbing minority”.

An Indigenous group is demanding the Allan Government cease public talks over the future of climbing at Mt Arapiles. Picture: David Geraghty

Mount Arapiles traditional owners have lashed out at the Victorian Government, criticising them for consulting with the public and a “radical rock climbing minority” over the decision to close large areas of the world-famous national park.

But the rock climbing community have hit back, saying community consultation is “absolutely essential” when access to public land is being taken away.

In a fiery letter to the Premier Jacinta Allan, Dylan Clarke, chairman of the Barengi Gadjin Land Council Aboriginal Corporation, blasted the decision to hold public consultations on the recently announced Parks Victoria draft management plan.

The proposal, based on cultural heritage assessments, recommended the closure of up to half of climbing routes at Mount Arapiles-Tooan State Park.

Mr Clarke demanded Ms Allan cease public consultation immediately and warned the government against siding with the “radical rock-climbing minority”.

Mr Clarke warned the Allan Government against siding with the ‘radical rock-climbing minority’. Picture: Jason Edwards

He revealed that the government had recently invested $1.7m to help carry out the Victoria Parks management plan and “open up access”, this will cover costs of installing culturally informative signage, refresh tracks, and upgrade facilities in the areas that remain open.

He also demanded the government not allow any changes to the proposed land access plan, and wrote that “cultural heritage laws for the entire state of Victoria are under attack”.

“Moving forward with an unnecessary and unprecedented consultation extension and Working group creation has the serious potential to draw into question the purposes, objectives, principles and applications of the Traditional Owner Settlement Act 2010, the Aboriginal Heritage Act 2006, and the Aboriginal Heritage Regulations 2018,” Mr Clarke wrote.

“We urge you to remain steadfast during this critical time and not to deviate from the current plan due to a radical rock-climbing minority who have launched a misinformation campaign aimed at undermining cultural heritage laws.”

However, Mike Tonkins, Australian Climbing Association Victoria president, hit back saying Victorians and users deserved the right to have their say on how public land was being managed.

“You can’t deny consultation for public land,” he told the Herald Sun.

“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.”

The Australian Climbing Association Victoria president said everyone deserved the right to have their say on how public land was being managed. Picture: David Geraghty

He added that the move to close Mt Arapiles set a worrying precedent for public land closures across the state and called for the state’s cultural heritage laws to be amended.

The latest stand-off comes after huge public backlash to the Parks Victoria plan.

Parks Victoria chief Matthew Jackson has appeared before a parliamentary inquiry revealing no public consultation had been carried out because the legislation does not require it.

Mr Jackson also admitted that the cultural heritage documents – which formed the basis of the plan to close huge swathes of the park – were private and not for public viewing, sparking concerns about transparency.

He has since been moved on and replaced by interim Graeme “Gus” Dear, and Environment, and Tourism Minister Steve Dimopoulos has called for an independent inquiry amid concerns the organisation was not managing its national parks and state parks in line with “community expectations”.

It’s understood that relations between the government and the local Indigenous group BGLC have soured in recent months as a result of the public handling of the announcement.

The group recently refused a meeting with Mr Dimopoulos.

In October a member of the BGLC confronted Minister for Treaty and First Nations People Natalie Hutchins at a meeting of Indigenous Groups telling the minister that local Indigenous people felt abandoned by the government.

In response to the letter a Victorian Government spokesperson told the Herald Sun: “This is about giving certainty to traditional owners and recreational users of the park.”

“It’s important we respect the significance of these cultural heritage sites and give climbers confidence about the rock-climbing areas that are open.”

“The draft management plan is currently out for public consultation and Parks Victoria will work with the local community on new tourism opportunities in this unique part of Victoria.”

Nationals Deputy Leader Emma Kealy said the letter was more evidence the whole issue had been mishandled.

“Premier Allan has mismanaged this so badly that everyone is outraged as a result of Labor’s incompetence … This is nothing short of Treaty by stealth.”