A ‘One Tribe’ Policy: Indigenous Groups Lock Horns Over Banning Tourists From Popular Hiking Trail

One of many scenic villages in the Tweed Hinterland is Uki, in the shadow of Mount Warning in the background located in northern New South Wales, Australia on July 28, 2004. AAP Image/James Shrimpton

Aboriginal groups have blamed an Indigenous advocacy organisation for promoting a “one tribe policy” after it managed to convince the New South Wales government to declare a popular tourist destination a “men’s site” and consider a ban on visitors.

The New South Wales government has worked closely with a “Wollumbin Consultative Group” since 2000—according to a statement— to provide “guidance” on the management of Wollumbin National Park near the border of New South Wales and Queensland.

“We’re committed to putting Aboriginal land management and stewardship at the heart of our efforts to conserve our precious environment and care for Country, which is why any future decisions about Wollumbin will be guided by Aboriginal custodians,” said James Griffin, minister for Aboriginal affairs and the environment, in a statement in October 2022.

Griffin also said that it was the view of the government that a popular hiking trail to the summit of Mt. Warning—that accommodates over 100,000 people per year—within the park was “not in line with the cultural values of the area.”

Wollumbin a ‘Men’s Site’

As part of the government’s efforts, the Wollumbin Aboriginal Place Management Plan (pdf) also states that the whole of Wollumbin mountain is a “men’s site and therefore gender restrictions apply to working on or visiting” the area.

“There are several women’s sites associated with Wollumbin [Aboriginal Place] that are integral to its cultural value. There are gender restrictions that apply to visitation of men’s and women’s sites,” the Plan says.

Yet this characterisation of the national park has been criticised by Elizabeth Boyd, an Aboriginal elder of the Ngarakbal Githabul people.

She, along with representatives of another Indigenous group, the Yoocum Yoocum, say their claims are being extinguished by the Wollumbin Consultative Group that represents the Bundjalung people.

“The Ngarakbal Githabul women have not been included in any of the consultative process in regards to the management or closure of Mt. Warning,” she said in comments obtained by the Daily Mail.

“The state government’s administrative decision to permanently close Mt. Warning not only contravenes my customary law rights and women’s rights and human rights—but also my cultural responsibilities to the Gulgan memorial.”

Her mother, Marlene Boyd, was the “Keeper of the Seven Sisters Creation Site” according to their people’s customs.

“The Bundjalung People are endorsing the ‘one tribe policy’ extinguishing the many tribes within the Yoocum Yoocum moiety who have not been given a voice in this matter,” according to a letter sent to the Aboriginal affairs minister.

“The Wollumbin Consultative Group has discriminated against the women and our lores,” it added.

‘Hope and Pray’ People Can Come Together, Says Elder

Meanwhile, Boyd is also opposed to a ban on tourists.

“That’s really sad for me to see that but I hope to open the mountain to all the people so everybody can be happy,” she said in comments obtained by The Courier Mail during a rally on Jan. 14, 2023.

“I hope and pray that our nation can come and be at peace instead of everybody arguing because that’s not going to get you anywhere in life.”

The hike to the summit has been off-limits since the beginning of the pandemic.

In response to Boyd’s dissent and complaints from local residents, the New South Wales government in December 2022 set up a Wollumbin Stakeholders Advisory Committee to find a resolution.

Yet in a statement, the government reiterated its partnership—including a signed memorandum of understanding—with the Wollumbin Consultative Group while leaving the decision to re-open the summit track up to “Aboriginal custodians.”

In another statement with the New South Wales government, the Wollumbin group said the site was of “highest significance to the Aboriginal nations,” particularly the Bundjalung people.

“We have a responsibility for caring for Country, our environment, plants, animals, water, earth, and sky,” the group said.

“As the oldest living culture in the world, we are sharing our cultural knowledge and entrusting this knowledge with the broader community so that our values, tradition, and law are respected, understood and acknowledged.”

The Epoch Times was unable to get in contact with the Wollumbin Consultative Group for further information.

It’s All About the Money

The controversy over Mount Warning’s accessibility aligns with concerns from the Indigenous leader and former Australian Labor Party President Warren Mundine, who said lobby groups for Aboriginal groups were often divorced from the needs of the community on the ground.

“When I go to Canberra, I’m tripping over blackfellas talking to the government, opposition, crossbenchers, senior public servants, ministers, MPs, and political staffers,” he wrote in The Epoch Times.

“In addition to Indigenous committees advising ministers, there’s an enormous industry costing a fortune to lobby and advise politicians and departments on Indigenous policy and issues.”

Mundine had similar views regarding ongoing efforts to change the Australian Constitution to include an “advisory body” to promote Indigenous interests.

“We’re up against the government, the corporate world, the woke Catholic Church, the media, wealthy inner-city elites, academia, and every woke Australian. The money being pumped into the coffers of the ‘Yes’ campaign is enormous,” he wrote.

“And yet none of the above can tell us, the Australian people, what the Voice is and why it needs to be in the Constitution.”