17 March 2026
The Greens have today announced they will push for the State Heritage listing of the Adelaide Park Lands, the Mount Lofty Ranges, and the Great Australian Bight in the next Parliament and lobby the Government to make World Heritage listing a priority.
Key Facts:
- The Adelaide Park Lands have been listed on the National Heritage List since November 2008, but a separate push for formal State Heritage listing has stalled for over a decade, with a formal recommendation for state protection still not fully enacted by the State Government.
- The Adelaide Hills, Alexandrina, Barossa, Mt Barker, Onkaparinga, and Yankalilla Councils have prepared a bid for World Heritage listing for the Mt Lofty Ranges, recognising its unique history of settlement, working agricultural landscapes, and historic townships.
- The Great Australian Bight is renowned for its biodiversity, with 85% of the species found in the Bight existing nowhere else on Earth, yet it has faced persistent threats from deep-sea oil drilling for over a decade.
Quotes attributable to Robert Simms MLC:
“Adelaide remains the only city in the world surrounded by Park Lands, open to everybody to enjoy, but it still lacks the heritage protections it deserves. Without them, Governments will continue to whittle away our iconic green space for short-term development gains.”
“The Park Lands, the Mount Lofty Ranges, and the Great Australian Bight are treasures that belong to all South Australians. State Heritage listing for these iconic places will strengthen the case for World Heritage listing, which they richly deserve.”
“With 85% of species in the Great Australian Bight found nowhere else on Earth, and councils already backing a World Heritage bid for the Mount Lofty Ranges, there is real momentum behind protecting these iconic places. The Greens will ensure heritage listing remains a priority in the next Parliament.”
Quotes attributable to Melanie Selwood, candidate for the Legislative Council
"The Labor Government continually uses our green spaces as free land for their pet projects. This has resulted in loss of trees, loss of green space, and loss of biodiversity. By protecting our precious places, we can ensure they're saved for future generations, not just land-grabs.
"Councils in the hills have been working on a World Heritage bid for the Mt Lofty Ranges for 14 years. The Labor Government indicated support for a World Heritage Listing bid in 2023, but we haven't seen much movement on it. It's time to move it up the priority list and protect the biodiversity and the First Nations cultural history of this rich landscape."
"We can't allow our Park Lands, Mt Lofty Ranges or Great Australian Bight to become victims of short-term populist projects."