Turnbull government decides against banning tourists from climbing on Uluru
"Either we can't spell, or they can't read," traditional owner Vince Forrester says of the thousands of tourists who scale Uluru each year, against the wishes of local Aboriginal people.
"There are all these [signs in] different languages asking 'please don't climb'. I feel disappointed that they really haven't got it yet."
Despite the spiritual significance of Uluru, Environment Minister Greg Hunt has no plans to stop people climbing the rock.
The Turnbull government last week announced the privately run Big Uluru Trek would begin in August - a 100-kilometre five-day desert hike from Amata to Uluru that would provide a new tourist drawcard and boost investment. It raised the prospect that the controversial rock climb might finally be banned.
The climb traces the route taken by the ancestral Mala men on their arrival at Uluru, and traditional owners consider that tourists who take the walk are disrespecting this spiritual significance.
A 2010 plan to manage the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park stated authorities would "work towards closure of the climb" for safety, cultural and environmental reasons.
However a spokesman for Environment Minister Greg Hunt on Tuesday said there were "no plans to change current arrangements".
In 2009 when in opposition, Mr Hunt reportedly said closing the rock to walkers "was on Labor's agenda", adding it would "end one of the great tourism experiences in Australia".
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"Big Brother is coming to Uluru to slam the gate closed on an Australian tourism icon, the climb," he said.
His spokesman this week would not say if Mr Hunt still held that view.
The plan of management states the climb should permanently close when any of three conditions are met: fewer than 20 per cent of Uluru visitors make the ascent, enough new "visitor experiences" are established to replace it, or the climb is not the principal reason people choose to come to Uluru.
Climb numbers have fallen steadily over the past few decades. Between 2011 and 2015 the proportion of Uluru visitors scaling the rock "fluctuated" around 20 per cent, according to federal agency Parks Australia - equating to about 55,000 people last year. It did not provide year-on-year figures.
Parks Australia's own research has shown that 98 per cent of visitors would still visit Uluru if the climb closed. It said on Tuesday that more visitor activities would be announced.
People are becoming more aware - now we have to get the politicians and the bureaucrats to understand
Some 36 people have died climbing Uluru – the latest in 2010 – and more have been injured, causing grief to local Indigenous people who believe they have a duty of care to those visiting their country.
Mr Forrester said traditional owners were "very disappointed" the government would continue to allow tourists to keep clambering over Uluru, which he described as "the soul of the country".
"Uluru is sacred. People are becoming more aware - now we have to get the politicians and the bureaucrats to understand," he said, adding "when there's an accident, it turns my guts."
Big Run Events managing director Greg Donovan, who proposed the Big Uluru Trek, backed the push for the climb to eventually cease.
"It's seen to be very intrusive to spirits and stories and special places for people to climb on the rock," he said.
"By taking that away, I don't think it would impact very greatly on tourism at all."
I told you the government has the final say Karnal.
This is an article from 2016. Unless the government makes a similar announcement, it looks like the proposed 2019 ban is still on.
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