Rock climbing activist held over spy-cam theft claim
One of the leaders trying to save rock climbing in Australia says he has been falsely accused of stealing a covert Parks Victoria trail camera.
One of the leaders behind the public campaign to save rock climbing in Australia says he has been falsely accused of stealing a Parks Victoria spy camera in the latest controversy over land access.
Australian Climbing Association Victoria treasurer Mike Tomkins said he was arrested, fingerprinted then released without charge on Thursday over the alleged theft of the trail camera, which was used to covertly monitor climbers.
But Mr Tomkins said he was in Melbourne, about 300km from where the hidden camera was allegedly taken in 2024.
The row comes as Victoria Police is under pressure to deal with rampant machete and other violent crime on the streets of Melbourne.
The new Victorian Chief Police Commissioner, Mike Bush, says he wants to address street and home invasion crime in Melbourne, which has become a major election issue for the Allan government.
Mr Tomkins’ treatment has ignited a backlash on social media from climbers supporting him and is potentially highly embarrassing for Parks Victoria, which used false information several years ago to vilify climbers. This included that climbers had installed a bolt through ancient rock art when it had been a government department. Parks Victoria also wrongly attributed bird manure to climbing chalk damage in another area.
Parks Victoria did not comment on Mr Tomkins’ arrest, referring the matter to police. Police were approached for comment. Mr Tomkins said a false complaint was made to police that led to the interview.
He said that when the camera was allegedly taken, he was three hours’ drive from the Grampians National Park.
“I was in Melbourne,’’ he said, adding that there would be several means to prove his whereabouts, including phone records and CCTV cameras.
The targeting of Mr Tomkins is potentially highly embarrassing for officials after he led the six-year campaign to fight widespread bans to climbing in Victoria, specifically the Grampians and nearby Mt Arapiles. He has been the most outspoken critic of the Labor government’s attacks on rock climbers.
Vertical Life reported that 18 months ago pictures were circulated on social media allegedly showing an unknown person handling a hidden trail camera near climbing routes in the Grampians. The identity of the person in these images has not been independently confirmed, the report said.
Parks Victoria banned climbing across large parts of the Grampians in 2019.
Now other states, especially NSW, are examining what sites might be subject to bans as the climbing clampdown focus potentially spreads.
The bans at Arapiles were based on concerns about cultural heritage and environment factors, such as damage to plants, and will be addressed in the next management plan covering the park. Arapiles is separate to the Grampians but can be seen in the distance. The government is eager for the issue of access to the state’s parks not to become an election issue.
