Pauline Hanson gets stuck on Uluru. Photo / Supplied
Pauline Hanson gets stuck on Uluru. Photo / Supplied
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has travelled to Uluru after controversially calling for indigenous leaders to overturn their pending ban on climbing the rock.
Senator Hanson also attempted the climb — but ran into trouble when she got stuck while she was up high on the famous, sacred rock face.
She was then forced to turn around and admit she would not be climbing any further up the rock, news.com.au reports.
Video footage of the moment she got stuck on the rock was posted to social media ahead of a special report set to air on Nine's A Current Affair program on Monday night.
In the footage, Senator Hanson can be seen walking up the rock without issue, until she gets to a high point, where her boots appear to give her trouble.
Pauline Hanson meets with senior traditional owners of Uluru. Photo / Facebook
"The fact is, it's money-making. It's giving jobs to indigenous communities, and you've got thousands of tourists who go there every year and want to climb the rock," she said.
About 300,000 people visit the area each year but the number who opt to climb Uluru has been steadily falling.
Senator Hanson later told ABC News the experience of getting stuck on the climb was "scary".
"I've never been up there before," she said.
"There are the issues, and having been up there to look at it, the main issue is about security and safety because about 35 people have lost their lives by falling off the rock."
Earlier this week, Senator Hanson told followers on her social media accounts she was invited by the Anangu Mayatja Council to Uluru to discuss their future after her criticism of the decision to ban climbing from later this year.
"I arrived yesterday afternoon and held talks with the two sons of Paddy Uluru who was the traditional owner and other family members," Senator Hanson said on her Facebook page on Wednesday.
"Today I will meet with around 15 of their Anangu Mayatja Council of Elders and attempt to climb the rock if the wind has dropped off.
"I'll keep you posted."
In 2017 the Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park Board voted unanimously to close the climb in a decision widely welcomed by indigenous leaders who said it recognised the cultural significance of the site and would "right a historic wrong".
The last day to climb has been set for October 26.
"This decision has been a very long time coming and our thoughts are with the elders who have longed for this day but are no longer with us to celebrate it," Central Land Council director David Ross said at the time.
Figures from Parks Australia indicated only 16 per cent of visitors to the park made the climb between 2011 and 2015, down from about 74 per cent in the 1990s. Though there has been a spike in recent months, most likely because of the impending ban.
Senator Hanson's vow to climb Uluru was met with considerable criticism on social media though comments to her Facebook page also indicated a level of support.
