Uluru © nosha
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The traditional owner of Uluru don’t want you to climb it. Nowadays most visitors don’t climb the monolith that was formerly known to the outside world as Ayers Rock.
The Anangu tribe own the land that forms Uluru Kata-Tjuta national park, which was handed back to the aboriginal community in 1985. Parks Australia has a long-term lease agreement with the tribe allowing them to operate the national park.
A point of contention is the climbing of Uluru. The traditional owners object to people climbing Uluru because it contravenes their traditions, damages Uluru, and they view it as an enormously disrespectful act when visitors climb to the top. In 2010 the park’s board agreed to a management plan that committed to closing down the climb after one of three conditions were met.
Now, The Guardian newspaper claims that one of the conditions — that fewer than 20% the visitors to the park climb Uluru — has already been met, yet there has been no indication that the climb will stop anytime soon. Suddenly there’s talk that all three conditions need to be met before the climb will close.