In the wake of another tragic and horrific shark attack on the West Coast of South Australia's 
Eyre Peninsula, the community members of Streaky Bay and the Far West Coast are mourning 
the loss of another beloved son, brother, uncle, and friend to all – Lance Appleby. Lance’s 
wonderful life has been the third life taken from us and the fourth life lost in South Australia in a 
little over a year. We are no longer willing to risk losing anymore loved ones. It is not just our 
family's lives that are at stake though.
While the safety of our friends and families is at risk, our small coastal town also faces 
uncertainty. Like many other towns along the South Australian coast, we now rely heavily on 
peak tourism seasons for our economy to thrive. Visitors come from all around Australia and 
the world to stay and enjoy the pristine waters of our unique beaches. Our state now stands to 
lose its proportion of the 3 billion dollars that surfing contributes annually to the Australian 
economy.
Days before our town’s loss, Streaky Bay was bustling with visitors – so much that locals 
struggled to find parking on the main street. Yet, just one day after the tragedy at Granites, the 
community has witnessed dozens of families and travellers packing their swags into their cars 
and leave town. Many of them had expressionless or overwhelmed faces, visibly shaken by the 
incident. They were scared away from their holiday retreat, seeking safety for themselves and 
their children from the trauma that comes with something so horrific. Now try to imagine how 
Lance’s family, closest friends and the rest of the community he grew up in must feel. 
With the recent increase in shark sightings and unforgettable encounters, the waters of South 
Australia are becoming increasingly difficult to enjoy. Surfers, divers and beach goers carry a 
constant fear of Great White Sharks, turning what should be a place of relaxation and therapy 
into a source of stress and anxiety. The ocean is a sanctuary for many, a place to unwind, 
socialise, exercise, and escape life’s hardships. Yet, these very individuals – including our 
builders, teachers, electricians, and emergency responders – are now burdened with an 
unwelcome fear that threatens their well-being. If they cannot safely use the ocean for mental
and physical health, our small town suffers.
Every time a South Australian or a visitor to our beautiful and rugged state enters the waters in 
which we play, work and live, they face an unpredictable and unmanaged risk: shark attacks. 
Despite this growing threat, the South Australian Government has yet to implement proactive 
monitoring or mitigation measures. Other states invest millions each year in effective shark 
safety programs, including real-time tracking and information sharing initiatives. So why is 
South Australia left behind? These measures could have been implemented years ago.
Today we are seeking your support. We ask you to stand with us in honouring the lives lost to 
shark attacks across Australia. We need your help to make our waters safer for everyone,
because we cannot do it alone. Help us bring some control to an otherwise uncontrollable 
environment. Serious action must be taken immediately, because if nothing is done, South 
Australia will become a place where a significant number of people will not want to live or 
holiday.
Rest in peace, Lance Appleby, Tod Gendle, Simon Baccanello, Khai Cowley, and all those lost at 
sea.
Forever young, forever surfing, forever loved.
We demand that the South Australian Government:
1. Approves a personal shark deterrent rebate for South Australians, modelled after the 
successful Western Australian program.
2. Urgently conduct a trial of an acoustic monitoring system at high-risk locations, utilising live 
data sharing of tagged Great White Sharks, like the similar and successful implementation that 
we have seen in other states. Additionally, establish a complementary, modern and revised 
opportunistic tagging and research program, without the use of berley, to extend statewide 
beyond the Neptune Islands
3. Increase funding for ongoing shark mitigation and water safety measures such as but not 
limited to drone surveillance, beach and water patrols and response infrastructure and teams, 
to be developed in consultation with experienced local water users.
4. Stop the use of berley and teaser baits to attract, stimulate and feed Great White Sharks for 
entertainment purposes, such as used by current Shark Cage Diving practices, until proven with 
scientific certainty that this does not pose a threat to public health.
5. Designate limited special purpose zones, so that attractants are not placed in locations 
where people commonly enter the water, similar to Western Australian initiatives.