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New Regulations 7-Oct-2022 At 9:52:02 AM harold

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On 6-Oct-2022 gordoste wrote:
>On 4-Oct-2022 dan_b wrote:
>>So many major decisions about parks seem to be made by people who have
>>seemingly never set foot in them. I suspect this applies even to senior
>>PV management.
>>
>>Sadly it seems new, non-recurrent Parks users are prioritised well ahead
>>of returning visitors as well.
>
>Yes, because they pay more. The problem is viewing parks as a "resource"
>whose economic output needs to be maximised. A transition to traditional
>owners calling the shots is our best chance to fight back against this,
>but unfortunately the mindset has infected some traditional owners.
>
>
>>I think the only reasonable response is quiet, considered disobedience.

Yes the bureaucrats see Parks as a resource to be run as some sort of theme park with a look but don't touch policy and paved walkways. Think of the twelve apostles - there can be 10,000 visitors per day and most do a day bus trip from Melbourne, they step off the bus, walk 100m take a photo, get back on the bus and back to Melbourne. Might as well visit with a VR headset. What is the point. It's like a museum for middle class visitors. Also they see the Grampians in a similar way as the "Alpha's" in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World and the savage reservations. The traditional owners will take the money of the "Alpha's" and do their bidding (even if it is unknowingly) because most people are corruptible when money and power is involved. Imagine if there was no money involved - different outcome.

Your best way out of this is if you could get the "traditional owners" psyched on climbing and off the government payroll. Imagine if there was a large number of indigenous people psyched on climbing and hiking (not as a career mind you, but as a recreation - because money corrupts everything). Imagine if there was no money to be made at all in Parks, and it was all managed by volunteers who are recreational users and independently crowd funded by users (like climbing always has been). Imagine if traditional owners also shared our dreams of one day being able to climb Serpentine on Taipan Wall. It would be an entirely different story. If you could set up an indigenous climbing organization, if we could abolish Parks Victoria you could maybe get somewhere. The greatest disruption to this us verses them nonsense would be tons of stoked indigenous rock climbers. (why do you think rock climbing parks employees are getting pushed aside?)

Another idea - what if all bolting permission and access was granted by an indigenous rock climbing committee. I'd be pretty happy with that. But they have to be competent active climbers. (not an academic being payed six figure salary by government who can't distinguish chalk from bird poop).

Alternatively, imagine a world where climbing is managed and funded by Government (through the intermediary of traditional owners). Where safety and access is controlled by Government. There is nothing about our sport that meets any sort of bureaucratic standards. Neither the way we access areas or the way we ascend the cliffs. Imagine it will be a replica of indoor regulated climbing with giant over engineered ring bolts at regulated intervals but with elevated steel walk ways to access.

Abolish Parks Victoria and hand management completely to volunteers. (what race they are I personally don't care either way - as long as they like climbing and being in nature)