The South Australian Labor Government is allowing gas company Santos to sponsor a public event – Adelaide’s world-famous cycling race, the Tour Down Under.
Santos is bad news. A few months ago it was revealed that Santos’ major gas export hub in Darwin had been leaking huge amounts of methane for nearly 20 years. And now they want to drill twelve new fracking wells in the iconic Northern Territory's Beetaloo Basin, putting precious springs and protected species at risk. At full scale production, thousands of wells could be drilled in the Beetaloo, producing an estimated 1.2 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions over 25 years to 2050. We don’t want Santos promoted in our state.
Our friends at Conservation Council SA* are calling on Labor to dump Santos as a sponsor of the Tour Down Under by holding one of Adelaide’s biggest ever rallies against dirty gas on Friday 16 January!
Where: Outside the Opening Ceremony of the Tour Down Under. Meeting at the northern point of Tarntanyangga/Victoria Square, Adelaide.
When: Friday 16 January 2026, 5:30pm.
ACF's new CEO Adam Bandt will be speaking at the rally, along with other exciting speakers to be announced soon!
Australia’s fossil fuel exports have made us the second biggest climate polluter on earth. No matter where Australian coal and gas is burnt, Aussies and the nature we love pay the price. We don’t need more gas, and we certainly don’t need gas companies to be promoted in public events.
Across the country, events and organisations are refusing sponsorship from polluting fossil fuel companies. Recently, the Adelaide Botanic Gardens dumped Santos’ sponsorship, joining Tennis Australia, the Darwin Festival, and the Australian Schools Science Roadshow in saying ‘no’ to Santos.
This is an important opportunity to send a clear message to Labor that South Australians do not want fossil fuel money funding our state’s most significant sporting event.
*Conservation Council South Australia is the sole organiser of this event – the Australian Conservation Foundation is not an organiser. By registering your RSVP to this event, you give permission to ACF to provide your name to the rally organisers (Conservation Council SA). ACF will not disclose any other information provided by you or stored by ACF.