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Uluru climb comments spark national debate

It is up to Aboriginal traditional owners to decide whether they want tourists to climb Uluru, the Northern Territory’s parks and wildlife minister says.

Apr 21, 2016, updated Apr 21, 2016
A tourist takes photos of Uluru. Photo: AAP

A tourist takes photos of Uluru. Photo: AAP

Bess Nungarrayi Price, who is a Warlpiri Aboriginal woman from central Australia, said she supported the views of traditional Anangu people who live near Uluru and who request that tourists do not climb the rock, although they do not ban it outright.

“I know they feel that way because they don’t want to be responsible for the people who die whilst climbing the rock – that’s the issue they have,” she told reporters in Darwin.

“(Uluru) is sacred to the traditional owners down there, but it’s up to the individual (whether to climb).”

Chief Minister Adam Giles said this week that he supported tourists climbing Uluru, and that if it was better regulated it might become a money-maker for the local people.

The climb is difficult and it has killed more than 35 people since the 1950s, but Mr Giles said he wanted to create “a new world-class tourism product”.

“I believe that we should explore the idea of creating a climb with stringent safety conditions and rules enforcing spiritual respect that will be endorsed, supported and even managed by the local Aboriginal community,” he told parliament.

“That would see a great opportunity for local Anangu to participate in a lucrative business and create much-needed local jobs on that culturally significant site.”

Although Price said she supported the Anangu’s view, she said if safety was improved she would back rock climbs.

But Donald Fraser, son of a traditional owner at Uluru, told the ABC that Anangu wanted to close the climb.

“We want to make the people who passed on, resting, sleeping now, happy by closing because they want it that way … we are going to eventually close the climb.”

He said he was unconcerned that it would reduce visitor numbers and said there were plenty of other activities for tourists: “It’s not about the money. It’s about our land and our land right.”

A recent Parks Australia visitors’ survey found that 98 per cent of respondents said they would still visit Uluru if rock climbs were banned.

Around the country, people took to Twitter to express their unhappiness with the idea, including The Sapphires actress Shari Sebbens, who tweeted: “@adamgiles how about acknowledging the already existing rules enforcing spiritual respect of #Uluru? #auspol #dontclimbit #justdont.”

NT Labor said it supported the view of traditional owners, and spokeswoman Nicole Manison dismissed Giles’ raising the subject as a political smokescreen.

“This is a classic Adam Giles distraction tactic to push as much attention away from his appalling track record as chief minister and the appalling government which he leads,” she said.

-AAP

Topics: Uluru
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