A Disturbing Photo Ban

I came across an article in a British newspaper, that talks about what might happen if you photograph the famous Ayers Rock in Australia.

According to Parks Australia, many parts of Uluru and Kata Tjuta are culturally sensitive. 'Uluṟu and Kata Tjuṯa have a number of culturally sensitive sites,' the Uluru website states.

The rock details and features at these sites are equivalent to sacred scripture for Aṉangu. They describe culturally important information and should only be viewed in their original location and by specific people.
It is inappropriate for images of sensitive sites to be viewed elsewhere, so taking any photos of these places is prohibited.

Does such obscurantism still have a place in modern society?

Climbing Uluru has been permanently off-limits since October 2019, after the Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park board voted unanimously to shut down the practice in line with the wishes of the Anangu Traditional Owners.
Anyone who attempts the climb now faces penalties of more than $10,000. The first prosecution came in 2022, when a 44-year-old Simon Day from Victoria was fined $2,500 after illegally scaling the sacred site.
However, since then, huge parts of the rock have been declared unable to be photographed, while other areas require a permit. Fines of more than $5,000 apply.

Ok to ban climbing but a $2500 fine for taking a landscape photograph is absurd.

Anyone wanting to shoot content at Uluru–Kata Tjuta National Park needs to pay for a photo permit, which costs $20 a day for commercial photography or $250 a day for filming.
On top of that, all visitors are required to buy a park entry pass, priced at $38 per adult for a three-day visit.

If you post to Social media they class it as commercial photography. Hope this wheeze does not catch on. A bit of a rip off to have to pay to photograph in a National park.

Photography is becoming ever more difficult, with BS like this on the increase.

This is an incredibly complex issue in OZ and will not be sorted here with a few throw-away Forum lines.
The reality on the ground is as convoluted in OZ as it is anywhere else with a Colonial history.
I suggest abandoning this thread before the inevitable lines are crossed, and instead,
tackle the Planet wide backlash against tourism as a much larger menace to Photography.

I met a political refugee from Iraq when traveling in Asia once. He was stuck in visa limbo as often happens in those situations.
I had some interesting conversations with him especially when he explained their cultural concept of "honour". It wasn't like the old British concept where you might challenge someone who had insulted you to a duel. It was much more about individual character (honesty, integrity, etc). It wasn't that I was unaware of concepts like that - they exist in literature and elsewhere but they are mostly lost in mainstream society today - not normally front of mind.

Like so many native cultures around the world, the original Australian inhabitants not only lost the land they existed on, they have had their culture actively oppressed by the colonists - something that is unfortunately still ongoing today.
One part of their cultural "honour" is respect of the land. They live that. Respect the land that provides for you. Why would you trash that which is necessary for your very existence?

So I understand how any society might get frustrated with unbridled tourism where most of the tourists are lost in la-la land and fail to even begin to comprehend the relevance of the cultural icons they are supposed to be visiting. How would people react if some drunken yobbo took a piss under the Mona Lisa for a selfie with his mates?

I am sure if society in general reclaimed some "honour" in their lives the locals would happily decide to re-open access to Uluru (Ayer's Rock).