Tourists soiling sacred site

Visitors are trekking up Uluru only to find no toilet facilities. Photo / Supplied

DARWIN - Tourists are defecating on the top of Uluru.

It's a sacred site and one of Australia's natural wonders but Andrew Simpson, general manager of the Anangu Waai tour company, says that isn't stopping people from using it as a toilet.

"That's been going on for years," he told NT News yesterday.

"When people climb up the top of the rock there's no toilet facilities up there.

"They get out of sight ... [and] most of them have a toilet roll tucked away. They're shitting on a sacred site."

His claims come as the federal Government considers whether to ban people climbing the 348-metre-high rock, which is sacred to local Aborigines.

The Uluru-Kata Tjuta National Park this year called for an end to people trekking up the monolith, citing cultural, environmental and safety concerns.

It sparked immediate debate over the future of the climb, which is seen by many as a drawcard for the 350,000 tourists who visit the rock each year.

Submissions on the plan closed last Friday, with federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett to consider more than 150 of them before making a decision next year.

Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has come out against a ban, saying it would be "very sad" if tourists were denied the chance to scale the rock.

- AAP