# Aussie Dopers (and other travellers) – Have you / would you climb Uluru? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 22, 2014, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734 "2014-07-22T13:11:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 5
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/81 "2014-07-26T00:59:36Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > I dunno, I think this is different because they are talking about a natural part of the landscape on public property. > > Nobody would think twice about a request like “don’t swim in our pool” or “don’t climb our tower”… but if someone says “don’t swim in that bay” or “don’t climb that mountain”, I think that does sound a bit jarring and almost anti-democratic to westerners… nothing Ugly American about it either. But it’s not on public property; the Australian government returned it to the [Pitjantjatjara Aborigines](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pitjantjatjara#History) - on condition that they lease it out to the the National Parks service for tourist access/management for 99 years. I know it’s not like they built it, but it’s also not like they’re asking anything unreasonable. Please don’t climb, **which might kill you** - 35 people have died there, leave trash and piss on our sacred mountain. If they said that you had to climb it or it would cause great cultural offence, you would have a case to ask them to hold on a sec. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/82 "2014-07-26T01:05:32Z")
Is there a reason the Australian government _doesn’t_ just prohibit climbing? If the Traditional Owners are so dead-set against it, and technically own it, why the heck don’t they just stop letting people up there? It’s not like Australia will miss the tourist revenue. ---
**Author:** ![Weedy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/weedy/32/301_2.png) [@Weedy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Weedy)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/83 "2014-07-26T01:07:04Z")
> [@Furious\_Marmot](#): > > I’m in the “don’t climb it out of respect for the owners” camp. > > Why doesn’t the lease specifically prohibit climbing? Is climbing simply not addressed in it? Do both parties have different interpretations of the lease? Or was the lease forced on the owners, like certain “treaties” the US government made with native Americans? > > More importantly, how long until the lease expires? Once it’s time to renew, it can be rewritten to conform to the owners wishes and if the Parks department doesn’t like it, they can go pound sand. Traditionally the land belonged to the Anangu people. When the English came, they took over the place and claimed it for the Crown, then declared it a National Park. It was handed back to the traditional owners in 1985 on the condition that they immediately lease it back to the National Parks, which they did. There is a board, composed partly of representatives of the traditional owners and partly of government types, which is responsible for running the park. In theory, it is supposed to be run compatibly with Aboriginal law/lore but also for the benefit of visitors, so there is a lot of wiggle room. The lease is for 99 years. The Anangu people get $150,000pa (there are about 4000 people; I have no idea how the money is distributed but there is a land council and a trust of some kind). The Anangu people keep the right to live in the area, hunt and gather food according to traditional methods, and they can temporarily close off ceremonial areas while they are using them. Basically, they can keep up their traditional lifestyle. The lease doesn’t prohibit climbing because visitors like climbing. It’s in the management plan that if it gets to the point where less than 20% of visitors climb to the top, then they will close the climb, though they have recently added a couple more conditions to that. > [@muldoonthief](#): > > It sounds from the article that the first time many tourists (especially foreign tourists) hear about the “Please don’t climb” request is when they arrive at Uluru. I’d be pissed as shit if I paid an extra $1k to add Uluru to my Australian vacation, planning on a climb, and only when I arrived found out climbing it would be offensive to the owners. You’d think if they really didn’t want people to climb it, they’d make sure tourists find out about their request when they make reservations to visit. Cynically I’d say they’re happy to keep getting the cash from tourists, and don’t want to scare them off. Who is the ‘they’ you are talking about? The Australian government obviously has the resources to mount international advertising campaigns. The Anangu people not so much. > [@Trinopus](#): > > Nope: because that action is against the posted regulations there, and if you do a nice gentleman – quite possible armed – will come along with full legal empowerment to compel you to stop it already. > > Bad comparison. No, but this is exactly the point. The same thing would happen if you were dancing on the altar in St. Mary’s cathedral in Sydney. Why are some places protected in this way but not others? I am not accusing you personally of racism but, in Australia, the laws about sacred sites are the way they are (i.e. non-existent) for deeply racist reasons. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/84 "2014-07-26T01:14:27Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > I am not accusing you personally of racism but, in Australia, the laws about sacred sites are the way they are (i.e. non-existent) for deeply racist reasons. But isn’t the racism the fault of the Australian government? Or at least the governing board of the site? I guess I’m having a hard time understanding how the lead singer for Midnight Oil can be a government minister but the same government can’t pressure tourist sites to be more respectful of the Traditional Owners. It also seems a bit harsh to make tourists make these racially freighted decisions about tourist activities when they surely have a far lesser understanding of the racial and historical issues at play than Australians at large. ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/85 "2014-07-26T01:14:59Z")
> [@LC\_Strawhouse](#): > > I dunno, I think this is different because they are talking about a natural part of the landscape on public property. And even if it hadn’t been given back to the Aborigines as **Mr. Kobayashi** points out, it was forcibly taken from them. They were there and had stewardship of the land long before the “public” came along. I also want to point out that we have very similar issues in the U.S. between climbers and Native Americans. [Devil’s Tower](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devil%27s_Tower_National_Monument#Climbing) is one of the more prominent, where a compromise was reached for a voluntary climbing ban during June when Native Americans hold their religious ceremonies. Climbing [Shiprock](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shiprock#Climbing_history_and_legal_status) in New Mexico is completely banned. I found [this discussion](http://sites.coloradocollege.edu/indigenoustraditions/sacred-lands/devils-tower-climbing-on-sacred-land/) of climbing Devil’s Tower interesting, especially the following which I think is equally appropriate to Australia: > [@](#): > > Much of this conflict arises from a deeply rooted difference in property belief between American Indian tradition and United States founding principles. The United States is based on the principle that private property is equally as important as life and freedom. As one man opposed to the climbing ban explained, “the biggest right that we have is private property” (Sacred Land). Native traditions on the other hand, value land as an intimate tie to their creator, as a way to connect deeply to their religious beliefs. Emphasis is placed on being a custodian of the land rather than owning it. American philosophy gives citizens the unalienable right to manipulate land to suit their individual interests, whereas indigenous philosophy mandates that individuals must act as guardians, preserving the land in its natural state and maintaining its deep, religious connections. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Kobayashi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4af34b/32.png) [@Mr.Kobayashi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Kobayashi)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/86 "2014-07-26T01:36:31Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > Is there a reason the Australian government _doesn’t_ just prohibit climbing? If the Traditional Owners are so dead-set against it, and technically own it, why the heck don’t they just stop letting people up there? It’s not like Australia will miss the tourist revenue. I don’t know enough about the specific culture of the owners in question so might well be wrong, but my impression is that it’s seen as more like respectful etiquette than legal obligation; _“That’s a really important sacred thing that you are climbing… You shouldn’t climb. It’s not the real thing about this place. And maybe that makes you a bit sad. But anyway that’s what we have to say. We are obliged by [Tjukurpa](http://www.environment.gov.au/topics/national-parks/uluru-kata-tjuta-national-park/culture-and-history/tjukurpa) to say.” … “The climb is not prohibited but we ask you to respect our law and culture by not climbing Uluru.”_ [http://www.parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/plan/we-dont-climb.html](http://www.parksaustralia.gov.au/uluru/plan/we-dont-climb.html) The link in the OP also says; _"it is not in their nature, nor their culture, to come out with a direct “no”… They are trying to politely ask tourists not to clamber over a sacred site. "_ ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/87 "2014-07-26T02:12:31Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > . . . The _only_ difference is that one is enforced by written statute, the other is requested by a people . . . That’s a mighty big difference. (“The only difference between a living body and a corpse is that one is alive and the other is dead.”) ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/88 "2014-07-26T02:13:31Z")
> [@Lorene89095](#): > > No,I try to have manners and if someone asks me not to do something I usually don’t. Please never eat potato chips again. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/89 "2014-07-26T02:17:04Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > That’s a mighty big difference. > > (“The only difference between a living body and a corpse is that one is alive and the other is dead.”) This thread is very illuminating, not just about why American visitors are so often disliked abroad, but why that dislike seems to genuinely perplex them: “I’m all about respecting your quaint customs providing you can show me in writing that I have to, otherwise I’m going to do what I want because AMERICA AND FREEDOM”. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 2:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/90 "2014-07-26T02:19:55Z")
> [@Weedy](#): > > . . . No, but this is exactly the point. The same thing would happen if you were dancing on the altar in St. Mary’s cathedral in Sydney. Why are some places protected in this way but not others? . . . A combination of property rights regarding privately owned property – if you come in to my house, you will not be permitted to smoke cigarettes, no matter how legal they may be outside – and the formal regulatory/legislative process. The Cathedral is private property, and the owners can make the rules, just as I can in my home. The National Park is publicly accessible, and appears to be governed by specific codes or regulations that do not ban the climb. Arlington cemetery is publicly accessible, but is governed by specific codes and regulations that prohibit certain kinds of excessively boisterous behavior; the legal power to create those codes is delegated to the Park Service by act of Congress. I do not know if the Australian Park Service has the authority to create a code banning climbing Uluru. They damned well should, but…they haven’t. The SDMB has a formal rule saying, “Don’t be a jerk.” Australia…doesn’t. (America certainly doesn’t, or about 95% of us would be in the pokey.) ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/91 "2014-07-26T02:33:39Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > This thread is very illuminating, not just about why American visitors are so often disliked abroad, but why that dislike seems to genuinely perplex them: “I’m all about respecting your quaint customs providing you can show me in writing that I have to, otherwise I’m going to do what I want because AMERICA AND FREEDOM”. But surely Australia is more at fault than the tourists, no? You’re asking a tourist, maybe one from China with little knowledge of Australian history, to make a snap decision about climbing in a sacred area. Apparently, you Aussies can’t even agree amongst yourselves whether to ban it. If it’s an Ugly American who pisses all over a sacred rock, surely it’s an Uglier Australian that sells him the ticket to do it. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/92 "2014-07-26T03:56:38Z")
> [@Penfeather](#): > > This thread is very illuminating, not just about why American visitors are so often disliked abroad, but why that dislike seems to genuinely perplex them: “I’m all about respecting your quaint customs providing you can show me in writing that I have to, otherwise I’m going to do what I want because AMERICA AND FREEDOM”. Well, yes, in essence. Show me the rules, and stand by them. Don’t ask me for a bribe to go through customs. Don’t say, “It’s forbidden” and rub your fingers together. If you’ve got a rule, post it. If you don’t have a rule, then don’t try to make one up informally and apply it unevenly. It’s called transparency, and it’s a good thing. You’re using a lot of nasty language here, but you don’t actually seem to have a point, other than that you seem perfectly happy to whine about racism, but engage in equally ugly nationalism. ---
**Author:** ![araminty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b5e925/32.png) [@araminty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/araminty)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/93 "2014-07-26T05:13:16Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Well, yes, in essence. Show me the rules, and stand by them. Don’t ask me for a bribe to go through customs. Don’t say, “It’s forbidden” and rub your fingers together. Do you tip? Where did you read the rules about that? ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/94 "2014-07-26T05:45:42Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Do you tip? Where did you read the rules about that? How is this relevant? If a tourist is a racist for climbing Uluru, then the Australian government is even more racist for forcing the Traditional Owners to grant tourist access. If it’s such a heinous act that only a disgusting American could conceive of it, what are we to think of an Australian voting public that hasn’t been able to elect a government willing to change the policy in 30 long Uluru-defacing years? I mean, seriously. If five bus loads of Chinese tourists climb Uluru in defiance of the natives’ wishes, is it still America’s fault? Or is it Australia’s? ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/95 "2014-07-26T06:13:46Z")
> [@araminty](#): > > Do you tip? Where did you read the rules about that? Tipping is one of my cultural referents. I’m familiar with it. It was taught me by my papa, long ago. Did you read what I said about cultural referents? ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/96 "2014-07-26T06:13:49Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > But isn’t the racism the fault of the Australian government? Or at least the governing board of the site? > > I guess I’m having a hard time understanding how the lead singer for Midnight Oil can be a government minister but the same government can’t pressure tourist sites to be more respectful of the Traditional Owners. > > It also seems a bit harsh to make tourists make these racially freighted decisions about tourist activities when they surely have a far lesser understanding of the racial and historical issues at play than Australians at large. In the 90s we were introduced to the concept of Secret Women’s Business when a group of Aboriginal women sought to stop the construction of a bridge on what they said was sacred ground. They claimed they couldn’t elaborate on why the site was sacred, but that it was central to their beliefs. Other Aboriginal women said those claims were untrue. A court found that the claims were fabricated. So right there you have people believing that Aboriginal people have fabricated claims about sacred sites to interrupt development. Later, an inquiry found there was not enough evidence to call the claims a fabrication, although it stopped short of saying they were true. You’ll never hear about that from the sort of people who bring up Secret Women’s Business as a reason to disregard any Aboriginal cultural considerations. A tourist doesn’t bring that sort of baggage into the decision making process. The plea from the Anangu people to respect their culture shouldn’t be assessed on the basis of whether or not the Ngarrindjeri women Elders lied to prevent the construction of a bridge, but some Australians mistrust one because of the other. In this respect, I believe some tourists can make a less biased decision based on the only information that is relevant: “The climb is not prohibited but we ask you to respect our law and culture by not climbing Uluru.” For myself? I would probably comply with the same sort of polite irritation that I feel around churches and other things that people hold sacred for reasons that seem a bit silly to me. The sexist and racist traditions of the Traditional Owners are vaguely offensive to me as a 21st century citizen, but I’m descended from the invaders and oppressors, not the oppressed people, and I’m sure we’ve done enough damage without trying to force a 45,000 year old society to abandon their traditions to soothe my modern sensibilities. ---
**Author:** ![Penfeather](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penfeather/32/384_2.png) [@Penfeather](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Penfeather)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 6:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/97 "2014-07-26T06:48:15Z")
> [@Trinopus](#): > > Tipping is one of my cultural referents. I’m familiar with it. It was taught me by my papa, long ago. > > Did you read what I said about cultural referents? What would you say to someone who came to the United States and refused to tip on the grounds that it was neither compulsory nor required in writing, then? After all, > [@](#): > > If you’ve got a rule, post it. If you don’t have a rule, then don’t try to make one up informally and apply it unevenly. It’s called transparency, and it’s a good thing. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 8:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/98 "2014-07-26T08:10:37Z")
> [@Eliahna](#): > > In the 90s we were introduced to the concept of Secret Women’s Business when a group of Aboriginal women sought to stop the construction of a bridge on what they said was sacred ground. They claimed they couldn’t elaborate on why the site was sacred, but that it was central to their beliefs. Other Aboriginal women said those claims were untrue. A court found that the claims were fabricated. So right there you have people believing that Aboriginal people have fabricated claims about sacred sites to interrupt development. > > Later, an inquiry found there was not enough evidence to call the claims a fabrication, although it stopped short of saying they were true. You’ll never hear about that from the sort of people who bring up Secret Women’s Business as a reason to disregard any Aboriginal cultural considerations. > > A tourist doesn’t bring that sort of baggage into the decision making process. The plea from the Anangu people to respect their culture shouldn’t be assessed on the basis of whether or not the Ngarrindjeri women Elders lied to prevent the construction of a bridge, but some Australians mistrust one because of the other. In this respect, I believe some tourists can make a less biased decision based on the only information that is relevant: “The climb is not prohibited but we ask you to respect our law and culture by not climbing Uluru.” Very eloquently expressed. My compliments. ---
**Author:** ![Erdosain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/erdosain/32/7284_2.png) [@Erdosain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Erdosain)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 1:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/99 "2014-07-26T13:50:07Z")
It may indeed be eloquently stated but it’s also absurd. Tourists, with no knowledge of past or present relations with the indigenous people are better placed to judge because they don’t know what stinking liars the Aborigines are? Is that really what you’re saying? Simply put, Australians can’t come to an agreement so they’re outsourcing the moral judgement to outsiders. And then judging them if they make the wrong choice! Really, that’s the only part that rankles. Coming from the United States, I can relate to living in a country that consistently votes for policies that lead to starkly racist outcomes. However, I’m not going to try to assuage my feelings of collective guilt by trying to foist the responsibility off on some convenient foreign visitors. And **Penfeather** ’s silence about Australian culpability in this matter is deafening. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2014, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734/100 "2014-07-26T15:01:10Z")
> [@Erdosain](#): > > It may indeed be eloquently stated but it’s also absurd. Tourists, with no knowledge of past or present relations with the indigenous people are better placed to judge because they don’t know what stinking liars the Aborigines are? Is that really what you’re saying? Nope. I’m saying the Anangu people shouldn’t be assumed to be liars just because some of the Ngarrindjeri people are thought to have possibly lied 20 years ago about an unrelated matter in a different part of the country. I’m also saying that that whole controversy is baggage that is brought to the table by some Australians because, like you, they would summarise it as “Aboriginals are stinking liars”. Why not say Australians are stinking liars? It makes as much sense. I don’t know what to say about the rest of your post. Indigenous Australians live roughly half as long as the rest of the population and are disadvantaged in all areas - health, education, employment, and they struggle with negative perceptions. Access to Uluru is way down the list of things that urgently need addressing. Most people will vote in their own self interest first, and so will prioritise other issues - childcare, rising utility bills and the cost of living, the beat up about refugees, climate change, etc. I imagine that if one political party committed to a 25% reduction in power bills through funding raised by holding dance parties on top of Uluru, they’d probably win in a landslide. There are more people worried about their power bills than worried about Indigenous rights. Indigenous issues are complex and unpleasant to think about, and there are no easy answers. As just 3% of the population, or around 670,000 individuals, they don’t have numbers on their side either. Essentially they are background noise at election time. I doubt many votes in the wider community are swayed by indigenous policies. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/aussie-dopers-and-other-travellers-have-you-would-you-climb-uluru/693734.md?page=6)