Plan to ban hikers from popular mountain and restrict them to ‘virtual climbs’

Hikers could be banned from climbing popular mountains in Queensland following the closure of Uluru in the Northern Territory and Mount Warning in NSW.

Emails obtained by the Save Our Summits group show the Department of Environment and Science considered barring the public from accessing Mount Beerwah, on the Sunshine Coast, among other peaks.

The department was considering offering the public virtual climbs using drone technology at the site because it was where the ‘inappropriate use of the natural and cultural resources is likely highest’.

Mount Beerwah was previously temporarily closed due to weather and graffiti, but emails between department officers revealed they were watching other mountain closures elsewhere in the country with a view to making it permanent.

In October 2022, New South Wales authorities banned public access to Wollumbin National Park, which includes Mount Wollumbin, formerly known as Mount Warning.

The ban was put in place to protect the sacred summit and address complaints from some in the Aboriginal community. 

Save Our Summits president Marc Hendricks said banning people from climbing was not the answer to respect nature and Indigenous culture.

‘We do no harm and leave just our footprints behind, to be washed away in the rain,’ he said.

‘These long-established traditions are common to all humanity and transcend cultural boundaries.’

One person wrote on Facebook: ‘Australian mountains are for all Australians’.

The Save Our Summits group secured a Right to Information request and, after a 12-month campaign, found dozens of documents which they say point to moves towards banning visitors from some peaks.

Angry climbers took to social media to express their disgust over the controversial proposals.

‘I have been climbing those mountains since I was nine years old, I am now 44 and I will continue to climb MY mountains. AND NO ONE will stop me,’ one person said.

‘If I am stopped, I will be taking it to court and fighting this stupidity. QLD voted NO to this divisive b****t.’

‘Virtual climbs? what a crock. I’ll climb it like I’ve continued to climb warning,’ another claimed. 

Another commenter suggested the ‘virtual climbs’ would ‘cost a lot of money for something that should be free’.  

Plans were discussed in emails in 2022 under the previous Labor government as part of the Glass House Mountains Precinct Visitor Management Implementation Plan.

Queensland Environment Minister Andrew Powell said there were ‘categorically’ no plans to close access to Mount Beerwah under the current government.

Banning the public from climbing Mount Beerwah was discussed by the previous Queensland Labor government

According to the Courier Mail, a Glass House Mountains precinct plan would be ‘essentially aiming to close Mt Beerwah, likely close Coochin and implement seasonal closures and other management actions across other peaks.’

The Save Our Summit group claimed there was more than 3,000 other documents on the subject they have yet to gain access to.

Mr Hendricks said he and other members were extremely concerned.

‘We’ve got clear evidence that the department has been working behind the scenes on closing Mount Beerwah and that is of great concern to the bushwalking community,’ he said.