Industrial, Newsletter

December 2025 Newsletter

This newsletter contains an update on the current status of some of the issues the group has been working on over the course of 2025.

Gillman first came to PAREPG’s attention in the early ’80s when a major copper-chrome arsenate store spilled into the storm water system.

Now spoil from the South Rd tunnels, complete with contaminating surfactants and other additives, is to be dumped at Gillman with scant regard for the local environment.

Securing the future of Biodiversity Park

In order to protect the environmental values of Biodiversity Park in the face of industrial development, PAREPG has pushed for this area to be proclaimed as a Conservation Park and this process has been progressing slowly through the Department of Environment and Water.

We have been advised that the park is covered by the government’s new LeFevre Master Plan but this has not yet been released and no further information is currently available.

In the meantime, PAREPG has only been able to negotiate a lease over the area to March 2026.

Green Adelaide has prepared by a comprehensive Biodiversity Action Plan for Biodiversity Park. This plan will assist future plantings and management of habitat for the diverse identified species of plants and fauna in the park.

Green Adelaide has helped us plant an orchid species, the vulnerable Pterosylis arenicola (Sandhills Greenwood orchid), and a mistletoe specific to Melaleuca lanceolata species.

The mistletoe (named Amyema melaleucae) will attract the coastal Amaryllis Azure butterfly, which has a fascinating co-operative relationship with tiny attendant ants. (Source: SA Butterflies and Moths)

The boundaries of the park are impacted by the Defence Training facility development on the northern boundary and Pelican Point Road constructions on the eastern side.

The eastern boundary in particular will be impacted by light spill from the road and PAREPG is lobbying Australian Naval Infrastructure, which is responsible for the naval shipyard constructions, to follow Commonwealth guidelines for street lighting next to a conservation reserve to minimise adverse impacts on native animals and birds.

Protecting the Gillman wetlands and salt marshes

In spite of strong opposition from PAREPG and Friends of Port River, and concerns from Port Adelaide Enfield Council, the government has approved the dumping of 4 million cubic metres of soil next to the Magazine Creek wetlands and salt marshes at Gillman.

This soil will come from the tunnels on the soon to be constructed Torrens River and Darlington section of the North South Motorway and will be used to build a huge raised area of land for industrial developments.

We are now strongly lobbying government to re-zone the remaining ecologically threatened salt marshes and the freshwater wetlands in the Gillman Basin to protect them from further industrial development and the risk of closing off options for managing future increased stormwater and rising sea levels in the area.

The restoration of this area adjacent to the Port River would reap many benefits:

  • The freshwater Magazine Creek, Range and Barker Inlet wetlands, as well as the remaining salt marshes and tidal creeks, would continue to provide rare refuge and breeding areas for the many birds and native fauna that rely on them
  • A functioning ecosystem of wetlands, salt marshes and tidal creeks would mean more resilience in the face of a warming climate
  • Salt marshes store more carbon than forests so the protection of these threatened ecological communities would enable the capture and storage of carbon in the soil and contribute to reducing carbon emissions from surrounding industry.
  • The proper management of currently dysfunctional tidal gates and levees on the Port River at Gillman would not only advantage the tidal creeks and salt marshes but would play a part in responding to flooding events and sea level rise.
  • The Gillman wetlands would be able to expand and clean the stormwater feeding in from Adelaide’s north-west suburbs before it gets into the Port River and sea.

Adbri emissions

Cement particulates

After several decades, the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) has finally found the smoking gun!

At the recent Adbri Community Liaison Group meeting on 1 December 2025, the EPA reported on the results from the air quality monitoring stations operating during the last year at the Birkenhead and Peter Nicholls Reserves on Fletcher Road.

We were told significant amounts of cement clinker dust particles were found, and that a “fact sheet” is being prepared for distribution to residents.  In our view, this is a milestone as it verifies quantitatively what residents have been reporting for many years.

The EPA revealed that a new standard for larger particles was likely to be introduced next year.

This was attributed to continued pressure by the Birkenhead community.

PAREPG were less impressed by the future actions proposed, which seemed to be “let’s see what the results of the current Environment Improvement Plan are” rather than attempting to pinpoint the source.

Oxides of Nitrogen

Nitrogen Dioxide (NOx) is a recognised respiratory irritant, and national guidelines for harmful effects were made more sensitive in 2021. 

PAREPG has been advocating for the installation of a NOx monitor at LeFevre Primary School for a number of years now. The EPA has six metropolitan monitoring sites but the LeFevre Primary School site is the only one without a NOx monitor, in spite of ADBRI modelling showing elevated emissions from the factory, and Department of Transport predictions of massive traffic increases on Victoria Road due to the AUKUS project. 

At the 1 December meeting the EPA revealed it would not be upgrading the LeFevre monitor, rather outsourcing NOx monitoring to Adbri.

However, Adbri responded that information on community NOx levels would not be released for at least 12 months, so that the company had an opportunity to consider the data.

PAREPG will continue to advocate for reputable and transparent NOx monitoring in the community

Waste processing

Community visits to CAWRA, the Council’s waste processing centre, have revealed that a proportion of the material fuels Adbri’s Birkenhead plant.

After investigation the EPA has found that 14% of the CAWRA stream is not recycled and 3% of the total is burnt at Adbri’s plant.

The EPA views this as a legitimate part of the “Commercial and Industrial Waste” stream and supports the practice.

AGL Torrens Island

Since its establishment in 2023, the Community Dialogue Group has served as a key forum for community stakeholders (including PAREPG) around Torrens Island, facilitating open dialogue with AGL on a range of issues including ongoing operations, power station decommissioning and demolition, environmental management and future development.

More recently, AGL confirmed that the operation of Torrens B power station will be extended by 2 years until June 2028 at the request of the state government.

The decommissioning and demolition process is well underway for Power Station A.

The Barker Inlet Power Station, a peaking unit using natural gas continues to operate

AUKUS

PAREPG representatives were invited to participate in regular meetings with ASA and ANI in relation to the AUKUS project in response to significant community concerns about the impact of more industrial development and the siting of a nuclear facility on the Peninsula.

We meet monthly with ASA and ANI staff to get updates on the Osborne Naval Shipyard Project and the construction and commissioning of nuclear-powered submarines.

Recent issues discussed arise from the Site License Application, including the decision not to provide the public with the technical Siting and Site Evaluation Report.

A submission has just been made in relation to this issue.

We regularly discuss issues affecting Biodiversity Park.

We also advocate for the importance of storm water management and salt marsh areas in the vicinity of the Shipyard and for ongoing access and protection for the adjacent reserve at Mutton Cove.