Thursday, 2 April 2026

 David LIMBRICK (South-Eastern Metropolitan) (19:19): (2485) My adjournment matter this evening is for the attention of the Minister for the Environment and Minister for Outdoor Recreation. In late 2024 the Legislative Council passed a documents motion that I brought to the chamber calling for the release of documents related to cultural heritage and environment reports related to the Grampians and Arapiles and all reports related to rock climbing. Since 2019 rock climbers have been fighting a battle to retain their right to climb in Victoria’s beautiful open spaces. For many of these climbers it is more than just a hobby; it is the way that they connect deeply with the land, with their bodies and with each other. In 2019 they were unfairly demonised, and in 2024, when bans on climbing across large parts of Mount Arapiles were announced, everything came to a head, particularly in the small town of Natimuk, where many of the residents moved specifically to be close to their favourite place for rock climbing. Some action was finally taken and the government intervened with the leadership of Parks Victoria. Since then a slow process of discussion and engagement has been ongoing with representatives of the local community, climbers, Parks Victoria and the local traditional owner group. There was also a review of Parks Victoria but no published outcome. Despite the goodwill of Natimuk locals and climbers, this has been a frustrating process, with pressure to sign broad non-disclosure agreements and a lack of transparency, and I would like to acknowledge all the people that have been working very hard on this consultation with the government.

I have been informed that the evaluation framework that Parks Victoria has established is still inadequate and might be worse than the previous decision-making framework. Questions to the minister have gone unanswered, and the documents order passed by this chamber has still not been complied with, despite the documents being provided to the department over a year ago. This is a community that wants this issue resolved. They are very happy to collaborate with local Indigenous groups and participate in a fair and balanced process. What they do not want is to be sidelined, dismissed, silenced or disadvantaged without just cause.

Sunrise at Arapiles is a beautiful sight, but shining some light on what has been happening in Parks Victoria, the Grampians and Arapiles may get to a truly balanced and acceptable outcome. Despite a comprehensive review, no details of the findings or recommendations of the review into Parks Victoria have ever been published. My request to the minister is to ensure that a summary of the review into Parks Victoria is made publicly available and maybe to speed along the tabling of documents that I called for in 2024.