Proposed access restrictions to Mt Arapiles

[Lophophaps]

https://engage.vic.gov.au/dyurrite

"Consultation on the Dyurrite Cultural Landscape (Mt Arapiles - Tooan State Park) Management Plan Amendment will be extended to 14 February 2025, giving the community more opportunities to make submissions."

Good. My somewhat rushed submission can be revised a bit. Eight years ago the very tight Falls Hotham Alpine Crossing submission deadline was extended. Like FHAC the Araps plan has been ripped apart. FHAC will be running at a loss, just like the $1.7 million in Araps "upgrades". I have sense of deja vu.

The petition
https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-i ... -arapiles/
has 9269 signatures. It would be really nice to get to 10,000.

[Yourrimed]

I’m not a rock climber myself, but I can understand how disappointing and frustrating it must be to see climbing areas close, especially iconic spots like TipToe Ridge. It’s concerning to hear about the creeping closures in national parks, and it’s definitely something that impacts the community. It’s important for those who care to speak out and get involved in efforts to keep these areas accessible for climbing. Hopefully, with enough support and awareness, some of these restrictions can be reconsidered.

[Lophophaps]

There are ramifications beyond Araps. One part says that the only place that people can go off track is in the camping ground, The Pines. There are contradictions and inconsistencies about access. For example, PV says that one of the plant species noted in the Plan as rare, Psilotum nudum (Skeleton Fork-fern) is one of the reasons that some park areas will be off-limits to rock-climbers. This species is quite prolific at Arapiles, with Crag Stewards Victoria recording Psilotum nudum at over 500 locations at Arapiles. Why are some climbing areas with Psilotum nudum closed and others are not? Is this species really rare? The lack of peer-reviewed open comment is unfortunate.

One submission says:
"For example, the proposed limitation to bushwalking only on three designated tracks, none of which service climbing areas,
has the (presumably unintended) effect of prohibiting access to and from those climbing areas where climbing will be authorised!"

The same submission continues:
"The severely underfunded Parks Victoria has been happy to have climbers act as de facto stewards and do this work. December 2024 submission, draft DCLMP 4 It has largely been climbers who have volunteered the many tens of thousands of hours required to carry out the enormous re-vegetation efforts over that time. It has been climbers who have carried out extensive and expensive track construction, maintenance and erosion control works and who have pulled up their sleeves, time after time, to do the unglamorous job of weed control. The severely underfunded Parks Victoria has been happy to have climbers act as de facto stewards and do this work ...

"Parks should be managed in ways that pre-empt, mitigate and minimise such potential impacts. But decisions on mitigation strategies should be predicated on evidence. Realistic evaluations of risks posed (or not posed) by any particular activity have to be buttressed by evidence (including, for example, longitudinal studies) and underpinned by a deep knowledge of the intricacies of the activity being scrutinized."

The petition has reached 10,000, which I understand is the required number for submitting to parliament. A few more names would be good.
https://www.parliament.vic.gov.au/get-i ... -arapiles/

[paidal_chalne_vala]

I have signed this petition.

[juz]

Due to many issues, the original feedback period on Engage Victoria was extended. However it closes tomorrow afternoon. I would encourage everyone here to put in a short written submission at least.

It is important to note that Parks quietly added a handful of documents to the information pack at the end of January, less than a fortnight ago. To me the most important release has been the “Djurrite Cultural Landscape Decision Making Framework”. It is available on Engage Vic ( https://engage.vic.gov.au/download/document/38605 ).

Whilst this document only applies to Rock Climbing at Djurrite, if this same decision making framework was applied to other places that we love to camp, bushwalk or paddle than all of these activities throughout the state would be in peril. I would encourage everyone to read through this document at least. I will provide the key things that caught my eye here:

The document was created with Parks Victoria and Barengi Gadjin Land Council working together.

There is no factoring in anything but cultural heritage when deciding on whether or not to ban climbing. No thought given to climbers, society as a whole, local communities, local business, climbers heritage and history etc.

Banned areas are to be big enough to 'obscure the precise location of values'. A chipped rock could be closing whole cliffs!

A simple equation from the framework: Tangible cultural heritage present, means rock climbing banned from the area. No effort at mitigating harm through education or engineering. Parks could put a board walk in to keep people off scatters, put a sign up to keep people away from art etc. No, they have chosen to simply ban people from the whole area.

Tangible cultural heritage means rock shelters, quarries etc. So from now, non-indigenous persons are never to be allowed in a cave in Victoria again? Really!

A second simple equation: Intangible cultural heritage present, means rock climbing banned from the area. The area is to be big enough so rock climbers cannot be seen or heard. So a creation story or ceremony site can mean that any non-indigenous person can no longer be seen or heard in the area.

This framework also highlights that Traditional Owners perceive any new climbing routes as colonisation and thus will not be allowed. Imagine this in the Alpine National Park. No existing, official bushwalking track will mean no more access to the area. That off track bushwalking route up a spur becomes an act of colonisation and will be banned.

This framework bans non-indigenous people from being anywhere near any Aboriginal cultural heritage.

This sets an awful precedent in my opinion that if extended to other areas and activities really threatens the way we interact with our wild places.

And finally bear in mind, that the decision making framework and the closures are still officially not open for feedback or discussion. The official position is still that the extent of the climbing bans are not what is open for consultation. This should alarm everyone. A very strict and hidden (until 4 years after publication and two months after the initial engagement period ended) decision making framework that ignores all factors bar cultural heritage gets implemented. There is no inpartial or public oversight, and no consultation or feedback.

Your quiet, minimal impact recreational use of wild places will be gone before you know it.

If that is not enough to get you to write a submission, how about $1500? Take the time to write a well thought out submission and enter the competition https://www.bogong.com.au/save-arapiles generously ran by Bogong, Melbourne Climbing School and Climb West.

This effects all bush user groups.