Mountain ban is the peak of despair for Tweed community
The continued closure of the Wollumbin/Mount Warning hiking trail has cost the local economy more than $50m according to new data compiled on the fourth anniversary of the controversial move.
The beloved mountain summit just south of the Gold Coast, the first place in the country to catch the morning sun’s rays, was closed in the early days of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 with an explanation that it was too hard to monitor social distancing.
However, the closure has now extended for four years, with a NSW government report in 2022 recommending the mountain closure be made permanent to respect the wishes of local Indigenous communities who view the place as sacred.
Marc Hendrickx, a climbing advocate and long-time campaigner to reopen Wollumbin, has written a book about the mountain, and this week told News Corp its prolonged closure had cost the local community an estimated $54m.
“The mountain used to attract over 100,000 visitors per year, so that’s about 500,000 people in the last four years that haven’t been able to go there,” he said.
“And this decision doesn’t just impact the climbers and visitors – the amount of harm this has done has been felt exponentially right across the community.
“It’s not just climbers – it’s businesses, it’s employees, it’s everyone.”
At least one cafe near the base of the mountain has closed down, while another has discontinued its accommodation offerings.
Many visitors to the mountain were day trippers from southeast Queensland, but about a quarter travelled from further afield, often staying in nearby camping grounds or the township of Murwillumbah for several nights as part of their visit.
The revelation comes as a petition tabled by NSW politician John Ruddock of the Libertarian Party calling for the mountain to be reopened reaches more than 7000 signatures.
The petition would need to surpass 10,000 signatures to be debated in a session of NSW parliament.
While the prolonged closure has left many supporters resigned to the fate of the trail, a change in NSW government has given some hope, with new Environment Minister Penny Sharpe visiting the Tweed in February to talk to stakeholders impacted by the closure.
The mysterious Wollumbin Consultative Group, which has ignored multiple requests for interviews, is seen as a major stumbling block in any efforts to reopen the hiking trail.
However, they have also copped criticism for recommending that mountain access should be off-limits for everyone except male members of the Wollumbin clan.
On Australia Day for the past two years, small groups of climbers have scaled the peak, which boasts spectacular views from Byron Bay and beyond in the south extending past the Gold Coast and southeast Queensland in the north.
Two protest rallies have been held in recent months, with another planned to take place in the coming weeks.
Last week, Sydney radio personality Ben Fordham told listeners to defy the climbing ban and if they were caught by authorities, he would personally pay any fine authorities issued.