South Australian Police have told the organisers of a planned Goolwa Bush Doof that the event is a prohibited gathering under COVID-19 Directions and must be cancelled.

Organiser of the event, Keiran Maguire, wrote on Facebook today, “I would have loved for it happen but because of COVID restrictions and the number of people interested it will need to be cancelled."

“It’s not worth the fines and restrictions we would all need to follow to be COVID safe.”

The outdoor dance party was going to be held on the southern end of Goolwa Beach on the night of the 6^th of February.

More than 4000 people expressed interest in attending on the event’s Facebook page and camping in the dunes or on the beach. 

The huge response raised concerns about the potential impact on the environment.

Mayor Keith Parkes told ABC Radio Adelaide last Thursday that there were no toilet facilities at the end of the beach where the event was intended to be held.  

He also said there was also an issue with liquor licensing and that no council permit had been obtained for the event.

“The facilities aren’t there and we have this crowding problem,” he said.

Chris Lemar from the Adopt a Spot Scheme told ABC Radio Adelaide that their environmental volunteers had been working in the dunes for two years and that the southern area of the beach was already “under a lot of stress because of the holiday period”.

He said that the amount of rubbish collected on the beach and at other areas such as Horseshoe Bay at Port Elliot had quadrupled from normal levels since the holidays began.

He acknowledged that organisers of the events had been encouraging people to bring rubbish bags and clean up after themselves but said that things didn’t always work as intended.

Had the event gone ahead as planned the organisers could have received a fine of $70 000.