SWWAN was founded in 2020 to oppose greenfield housing developments in the Sellicks Beach area. We advocate that the land instead be conserved for environmental restoration as an essential response to the extinction crisis. We also advocate for better planning across the entirety of the Adelaide area and Fleurieu Peninsula with our Rewild the Fleurieu Campaign.

SWWAN contends that the decades old plans for urban expansion around Sellicks Beach are outdated and don’t reflect the current thinking on the environment or urban planning. Our world has changed significantly and the knowledge of the threats posed to us by biodiversity loss and climate change have expanded greatly. The environment is collapsing because of biodiversity loss and the effects of climate change are being brought home by the ongoing drought in South Australia, floods in the eastern states and of course, the algal bloom brought on by a global marine heatwave. The need for housing is no longer, if it ever was, on the peri-urban fringe of Adelaide but in sustainable urban infill closer to the city centre with a priority on social housing. We cannot continue to use plans from last century that put future communities at risk because they ignore the latest science.

We are asking that for the protection of future generations the State Government of South Australia reverse its plans for greenfield housing in Sellicks Beach and propose that the land instead be restored as habitat linking the Aldinga Scrub and Wetlands Conservation Park with the Fleurieu Peninsula. A plan that helps addresses the existential threats of biodiversity loss and climate change, helps protect our agricultural industry, addresses the housing crisis, respects the cultural significance of the land and preserves the idyllic character of the current township of Sellicks Beach and the wider Willunga Basin. Read SWWAN’s proposal on the Advocacy and Submissions page.

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