Jasin wrote on Dec 9^th, 2022 at 7:49am:

Captain Caveman wrote on Dec 9^th, 2022 at 1:02pm:



and just like the idiot trumpsters, you'll be the first to cry when you were questioned for your actions 

Well - there's a national park behind us here... you can drive to a fabulous lookout that looks out over the lakes and ocean...and it costs nothing to go there..... why would I cough up $25 to feed some parasite just so I can do what I can do now for free?

WTF do we pay NPWS for?  Apart from selling us out, that is .......  PHARK 'EM!!

A step in the right direction, but still far from a reasonable outcome. Guided tours are not going to be reasonably priced for your average backpacker or young family. Having to hike on a schedule and being herded up the mountain in a large group at the pace of the slowest person would ruin the experience for most anyway.

I think the lockout might have been an opening gambit for a handout.

paywalled on the courier mail, and I also couldn't get the URL.

Talks revive hopes for future of Mount Warning Wollumbin trail
Its closure ignited controversy around the country, but is there a glimmer of hope for the future of the popular Mount Warning Wollumbin summit trail?
Jeremy PierceJeremy PierceGold Coast bureau
@GoldCoastBureau
2 min read
December 15, 2022 - 12:00AM
Part of the last section of the Mt Warning summit walk undertaken on January 4, 2021. Video: YouTube/Right to Climb
Hikers on the iconic Wollumbin summit could be accompanied by Indigenous tour guides in a last-ditch effort to keep the Mount Warning trail open to the public.
The track to the popular mountain top – the first place in Australia to catch the day’s sun, has been shut for almost three years in a succession of “temporary” closures citing Covid-compliance and later maintenance issues.
The fate of the trail – which attracts more than 100,000 visitors annually, was seemingly sealed in October with the release of a Wollumbin Aboriginal Place Management Plan which recommended the “immediate” closure of the area.
However, a meeting will be held on Thursday “to provide a forum for key stakeholders, including local government and the tourism industry, to provide input to future decisions regarding Wollumbin”.
It has left the door ajar for hopes some sort of compromise could allow visitors to return to the mountain, which has special significance for the Aboriginal people according to the Wollumbin Consultative Group which has recommended the area “should not be a recreational space for the public to visit or use for tourism”.
The future of Mount Warning Wollumbin remains uncertain. Picture: Josh Powell Fussell.
Tweed Mayor Chris Cherry, who will attend Thursday’s meeting, said she still held out a small hope that hikers could return to the much-loved attraction “in a respectful way”.
She said she would like to see group hikes led by Indigenous guides in a bid to properly manage the site and teach visitors about Aboriginal culture.
“My preferred outcome would be that the mountain could be shared with the wider community,” she said.
“I’m going into the meeting with an open mind.”
She also proposed an “Uluru-style” transition period where people could visit the park again until a permanent closure if the Wollumbin Working Group would not reconsider a move to officially reopen the trail.
“It could be managed in a way that allows people time to visit again before the closure became permanent,” she said.
“It could be much like the way Uluru had that transition period (before climbing was banned).”
Member for Tweed Geoff Provest backed Cr Cherry’s suggestion for Indigenous guides to lead climbing groups on the mountain.
“I like the idea of charging people to go up there, having Indigenous rangers leading hikes,” he said.
“We’ve seen that elsewhere and this would be the perfect fit.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service said the organisation would “support the advisory committee and facilitate its engagement with Aboriginal custodians”.
However, it remained “a decision for the Aboriginal custodians whether or not to re-open the summit track”.
The Courier-Mail requested comment from representatives of the Wollumbin Consultative Group but did not receive a response before going to print.

Lisa Jones wrote on Dec 15^th, 2022 at 7:40am:


It would only work if the racists chose to accept you as aboriginal.

freediver wrote on Dec 15^th, 2022 at 7:42am:


Oh so I do not have the freedom to choose to identify as an Aboriginal. In fact my freedom of choice is constrained and dictated by racist Aboriginals???

Edit : We need more GMods Freediver. Why? Too much off topic derailing of topics by the usual riff-raff is disrupting on topic dialogue.

freediver wrote on Dec 15^th, 2022 at 7:59am:


As i have patiently tried to explain to you on several occasions, this is a disingenuous question. It is designed entirely to provide you the only answer you want.

I'm not playing.

By the way, does the way Larry crawls up you arse give you a semi?

mothra wrote on Dec 15^th, 2022 at 8:03am:


Mothra Theresa, it is OK to disagree with Aborigines. It is not racist. They are not sacred or infallible.
Do not be afraid.