Michael McCormack (Riverina, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Tonight I rise to speak about some caves and some trees, which seem rather insignificant when we've got little Cleo Smith in Western Australia still missing as the search enters its 11th day. For family and friends, indeed all sound minded Australians, this is such an awful time, a worrying time. If anybody has any information, as Premier Mark McGowan said today, please contact police.

I am rising to speak about the Yarrangobilly Caves. I know the member for Barton will be interested in this, given the fact that she is a Wiradjuri woman. Unbelievably, this absolute treasure near Tumbarumba has been vandalised. It is in the Kosciuszko National Park, in the Snowy Valley shire, and many people from my electorate of Riverina visit this beautiful, once-pristine part of the world. I've spoken to the member for Eden-Monaro, Kristy McBain. She shares my disgust at the police reports that these wonderful caves have been damaged. A NSW police spokesperson has told the ABC that a padlock securing the doorway into one of the caves was removed and the power distribution board was damaged.

What has happened is they have snapped off the stalactites. A stalactite is a tapering structure, hanging like an icicle from the roof of a cave. It's formed by calcium salts deposited by dripping water. Some of these cave systems in Kosciuszko have been there for hundreds of millions of years. To think that senseless vandals would, in the first place, break in and then smash these stalactites is just beyond belief. Police are alleging that the Jillabenan Cave, one of the six caves which form the Yarrangobilly cave system, was broken into and vandalised sometime between 17 and 23 October.

The Jillabenan Cave dates back around two million years, according to geologists. There is also a thermal pool at the site, where the water is a constant 27 degrees year round. It's a wonderful tourist attraction, and people go there from all over Australia, but particularly from Eden-Monaro and the Riverina, the two electorates neighbouring each other. Unfortunately, according to a former National Parks employee Andy Spate, who spoke to the ABC, it would not be the first time the caves have been targeted by vandals, but it beggars belief why vandals attack these things at all. It's bad enough they go around and paint and daub walls and the like, but to actually damage something that is irreversible is just so unfortunate. If anybody has any information, they are urged and encouraged to phone Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

I know that the Kosciuszko system is part of that wonderful what used to be the Tumbarumba Shire before it was merged with Tumut Shire. That was a shame too, I have to say, having seen Tumbarumba Shire within my time as its representative win the AR Bluett award for local government management, but that's another issue.

Of course, the wonderful Tumbatrek in early February each year is something that many people embark upon. I know that the member for Eden-Monaro and I have done that once or twice together, but I revived it. Back in 2012, I resurrected something that was started by Tim Fischer, the late, great former Deputy Prime Minister and former member for Farrer. He started it in 1985. He took the national media to the top of Kosciuszko and to other beautiful parts of the Kosciuszko National Park and extolled the virtues of tourism and extolled the virtues of Indigenous occupation there for tens of thousands of years. Of course, we still all miss Tim. He passed away on 22 August 2019, aged 73. We want to honour his legacy always with that Tumbatrek. But, if anybody can identify those criminals who did that to Yarrangobilly Caves, please do so because they should face the full justice that they deserve.