Rally and Blockade against the Stealth War Movie filming in the Grose Wilderness
24th April, 2004

A high impact war film, ‘Stealth’, is set to film on fragile wilderness lands at Butterbox Point, near Mt Hay. It is expected that the film company will be sending in their crew of up to 150 perhaps as early as dawn Monday 26 April.

Protest Rally

“The Blue Mountains Conservation Society and the Colong Foundation for Wilderness have convened a protest rally at Govett’s Leap Lookout Blackheath this Monday 26th April at 12 noon to protest against the Stealth war movie in the Grose Wilderness. A blockade of the Grose Wilderness will also be in place by Sunday night”, said Keith Muir director of the Colong Foundation for Wilderness.

“We expect many people from the Mountains and Sydney to be at the Govett’s Leap rally”, Mr Muir said.

Blockade

“A blockade is being undertaken from Sunday night along the Mt Hay Road, north of Leura. The high impact filming with up to 75 people and heavy equipment is on a very environmentally sensitive area with skeletal soils; threatened species at risk, delicate rock formations; a fragile hanging swamp and montane heath vegetation that is recovering from bushfire and at the seedling stage,” he said.

“The new Regulatory Division of the Department of Environment and Conservation has failed to impartially apply its laws and policies designed to protect the sensitive wilderness environment. The Department has also failed to require a formal archaeological study, even though the area is known to have a very high potential for cultural sites” said Mr Muir.

Robin Mosman of the Blue Mountains Conservation Society said: “The Blue Mountains Conservation Society and other citizens are concerned that this will be a precedent for other inappropriate and destructive commercial activities to be authorized within our National Parks. The wilderness area classification is supposed to give the highest level of protection to National Park lands. If a special licence can be issued to allow such high impact filming of war movie in such an environmentally sensitive area within a wilderness area, what protection, if any, do our National Parks actually have? “

Reasons why the filming must be stopped include:

1. The approval issued by Departmental of Environment and Conservation is illegal. (The park plan of management bans structures in wilderness areas and the film company will build three platform structures. This is a breach of the National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974.)

2. Consent conditions could be breached from the start. (The approval issued activity must not be undertaken during school holidays but we understand the film crew is going into the wilderness very soon and Departmental officers and the police could support this action.)

3. The promised archaeological survey not done and sites are known to exist around the film site.

4. High impact filming with up to 75 people and heavy equipment in the wilderness that will be taking place in a very environmentally sensitive area with skeletal soils; delicate rock formations; endangered species at risk, fragile hanging swamp and montane health vegetation that is recovering from bushfire and at the seedling stage.

5. Precedent of high impact commercial use in wilderness areas that is way beyond anything approved before.

6. Contrary to National Park commercial filming policy that prohibits war films in wilderness areas.

7. Precedent for new environment department’s Regulation Division that has failed in its duty to impartially enforce laws and policies and may even assist the film company to break consent conditions.

8. Violation of the spiritual home of the wilderness movement in Australia.

“This list of failures is an attack on conservation that approaches anarchy.” Said Mr Muir.

Protest Rally media contacts:
Robin Mosman 0414 264 736
Tara Cameron 0419 824 974


Blockage media contacts:
Ian Cohen 0409 989 466
Keith Muir 0405 463 625 (from 7 pm Sunday 25)