Most Quadrant readers will likely think poorly of Rudd & Co, but credit where it is due: when the panic merchants came calling with warnings of the megadeath the then-latest virus doing the rounds would wreak, Ms Roxon sent them on their way with the sheaves of dire predictions they rode in on. Alas that such good sense prevailed today

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The sign at the base of the western climbing spur asserts, “Under our traditional law climbing is not permitted”, which is a lie writ large. There is still time for access to the Rock to be preserved -- and with it the heritage of all Australians, not just Aborigines

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While humanities departments would seem the natural domain of the censors, scolds and arbiters of what is acceptable to utter in our postmodern age, that same contagion is spreading to the physical sciences. I discovered as much when my attempt to defend the right to climb Ayers Rock was pointedly spiked by the Geological Society of Australia's newsletter

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With facts in hand it comes as no surprise to learn that just about everything Parks Australia and the current stewards of Ayers Rock would have you believe is a lie. A mere few months from now the ascent made by millions visitors will be off limits and all of us, black and white alike, will be the poorer

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In Melbourne this week, blogger and author Marc Henrickx launched A Guide to Climbing Ayers Rock, which argues the sandstone monolith belongs to all Australians, not just those Aborigines whose local leaders are rejecting documented history to deny all but their own access to a national treasure. Here is what he had to say

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Uluru's custodians swear that climbing the monolith defiles it, yet they don't accord a documented truth any respect at all. The proof is a long forgotten ABC interview with Toby Naninga, who confirmed there is nothing sacred about the summit and urged tourists to avoid only a few small, fenced-off areas

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To justify its seizure of a marvel that belongs to all Australians, not just Aborigines, Parks Australia said that a mere 20% of visitors attempting the climb would indicate public support for closing it down. Obtained via an FOI request, those vaunted numbers have been twisted into sheer nonsense

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Claims that Aborigines never ascend the monolith are false and the 'highly sacred nature' of the route a recent invention. The cultural-heritage significance of the climb to both Anangu and millions of non-Aboriginal visitors should be celebrated and maintained, not discouraged and condemned

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Australian backpackers wore its embroidered likeness on their sleeves, Ayers Rock being a symbol of the nation in which all can rejoice regardless of colour, creed and ethnic heritage. Then a modern, exquisitely sensitive philosophy took charge and Uluru was declared for one race only

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Bill Leak appeared often on Insiders. So how did Barrie Cassidy & Co mark his premature death? By featuring an alleged SBS comic who recently slandered our greatest cartoonist as a racist, homophobe and all the other standard slurs besides. Then it was old pal Tingle's turn

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