ROOTHY – THE BEARDED CRUSADER

From 4X4 journalism to politics and lobbying, the passionate John Rooth loves getting into low gear for extra grunt Who is John Rooth? One time engineering student, high school history teacher, miner, bush mechanic, harvester driver and most of all traveller. Lousy on the mouth organ. First job in journalism was testing motorcycles. Tell us about Unlock Australia. ULA is a not-for-profit organisation formed by people concerned about the state of the bush and the constantly restricted access to our public lands. How long have you been involved in this cause and why are you so passionate about it? I’ve always wanted more access to the bush, but after my first Simpson trip in four years a couple of years ago (I used to be a regular there as a tour guide) I was shocked by the damage done by a cat invasion. Pigs have ruined vast tracts of the Cape. There’s been goats in the Pilliga and massive bushfires in the Blue Mountains and High Country because the current management lacks common sense! Tells us a little about the other key members of the Unlock Australia team? The board consists of Slav Stefanuik (the bloke who kicked off TJM Megastores amongst other things), who is a very concerned grey nomad and sees the free camping restrictions first hand; Toni Challinor, an accountant and a mum worried about the future; David Luke, off-road journalist and event organiser; Phil Johns, finance industry advocate and lobbyist when he’s not camping and exploring the bush; and Jamie Hazelden, bush traveller, 12-volt expert and businessman. What is your support like? What do you have in the way of members and donations? Currently in excess of 14,000 members in the first nine months, and over 15,000 people attended out first rally in Newcastle. There is money in the fighting fund thanks to our supporters. Support has been massive, everywhere from the Cattlemen’s Association to free camping organisations. What other organisations and businesses support Unlock Australia? If they’re involved in outdoor recreation, they’re almost guaranteed to support ULA. If they don’t, they’re lazy, crazy and probably going to go out of business. Unlock Australia recently organised a very successful event at Stockton Beach in NSW. Tell us about it. Apart from the 10,000-plus people who showed up, the biggest surprise was the support from the local press. Free camping and access to public lands is a big issue for a lot of people from grey nomads to campers to trail bike riders to 4X4 enthusiasts and anyone who loves time in the bush. What else has Unlock Australia achieved? We’re restructuring to take advantage of all the offers of assistance and volunteer effort right now. We’re getting our compliance and legal requirements in perfect order – we even have lawyers and barristers doing pro-bono work because they believe in the cause. The awareness campaign is growing and there’s been a lot of lobbying of governments at all levels. Where are the major flash points over track access in Australia? Put a pin in the map and you’ll probably find somewhere that’s been closed recently not far away! Where have 4X4s been locked out of recently and where are they threatened with being locked out? Brindabellas near Canberra has been the latest public area to host a rash of gates. The threat is everywhere! Are there areas that have been re-opened to 4X4s recently? How was that achieved? Lots of pressure has seen a few areas ‘opening’ but usually in restricted form. What is Unlock Australia putting most of its energy into at the moment? Getting the legs to support a massive movement – because that’s what it’s going to take. Why have you changed the name from Don’t Lock Up Australia to Unlock Australia? Once we got DLUA going we realised it was too late – we needed to Unlock Australia. And everybody called it that anyway. The reason often given for locking access roads is damage done by irresponsible 4X4 owners. What is the solution to this problem? Every problem has a better solution than gates. ULA sees education as paramount, possibly bush access licences and camera-operated boom gates if there’s a need to check vehicle access. Most of the closures in NSW, for example, are caused by rubbish being dumped, yet thanks to the Environment Protection Authority it costs $160 to take a trailer of rubbish to the tip. We’d like to see tips made free and a bottle/container deposit scheme similar to SA’s across the country. If you could unlock the gates to just one place in Australia, what would it be and why? Not good enough. All our public land belongs to all of us – we need to teach people to love it and look after it. Why did you decide to stand as a Senate candidate in Queensland for the Outdoor Recreation Party (Stop the Greens) at the last federal election? I was asked by the ORP who covered everything and made it easy. They didn’t want me to win – thank heavens – they just wanted to gauge the size of the anti-green sentiment and direct votes away from the greens. What are the party’s key policies? The ORP is about outdoor recreation and all that entails – including access, which is my primary concern. How did you fund your campaign? Stickers via the web went out to supporters in return for small donations. The support was massive, thanks! How successful was your campaign? It helped channel votes away from the greens, helped – through the preference system – get a Liberal Democratic Party member into the Senate and almost shocked me by being about 6700 primary votes away from me going to Canberra … I guess awareness was the biggest single gain. How did the party’s other candidates fair? Similarly but possibly not as well. Queensland is really over the green alliance that’s almost ruined our state’s finances. Are you going to run at future elections? I’m not really keen on going to Canberra! I’m too impatient and not compromising enough to be a politician. The Greens have been responsible for getting vast natural areas of Australia protected for public use – areas that could have otherwise been damaged or alienated by logging, dams, agriculture, mining and development. Why do you dislike them so much? Could you ever see yourself working with The Greens to achieve some of your goals given your shared love of the natural environment? I was a Green when Bob Brown was saving the Franklin, but the movement has gone from making a point to ruling the entire outdoors with bureaucratic support and academic knowledge. Practical common sense is what’s needed to manage the bush. You cannot close it off and “leave it to Mother Nature” – it’s too late for that, and it has been since the big white canoe landed 240 years ago. You believe public land has been mismanaged. What should happen to improve the management of this land, particularly national parks? Regular cool burn offs, allow people to access it, camp in it, keep the tracks open and – in season, with licences and restrictions – hunt feral animals, too. Bush lovers are the greatest resource the bush has, yet the various parks departments – green inspired – can’t see the sense in finding ways to utilise this resource. Ricky Muir from the Australian Motoring Enthusiast Party was elected as a Victorian Senator at the last federal election and will help control the balance of power in the Senate when he takes his seat on July 1. He is a 4X4 enthusiast but has said very little since being elected about what he will seek to achieve in parliament. Do you know him? Why has he been so reclusive? What can people expect from him when it comes to issues dear to the hearts of the 4X4 community and Unlock Australia supporters? I don’t know Ricky. I assume he’s a bit sensitive to publicity and the likelihood that the press will play their natural game and make him look foolish. There are other 4X4/countrymen/bush lovers like David Leyonhejlm with terrific ideas and a great head for the issues and he’s heading into this Senate too. If Ricky can work with David, we’ll all be better off, and Australia will too. How long did you work at 4WD Action magazine and why did you leave there recently? Probably about fifteen years – three times longer than I’ve worked anywhere else ever! I loved the work but times change and I need to get some other things – like Unlock – done properly too. What next for John Rooth? Are you going to keep working as a journalist or are you going to put all your energy into politics and the Unlock Australia cause? Is Pat offering me a job? It’s been almost a decade since we travelled together! Definitely not the politics in terms of being one, but yes, unlocking Australia is a passion and something I view as essential work. It doesn’t pay though, so sooner or later, as a family man with two kids still at school, I’ll be looking for some work. I’ll never stop writing – took me too long to learn to spell. For more information about the issues raised in this Q&A go to: Outdoor Recreation Party – orp.org.au John Rooth – www.roothy.com.au Unlock Australia – unlockaustralia.com.au