Members of the Cuttlefish Coast Coalition took Mr Parnell on a tour of the area, taking in the lighthouse, the beaches and the cuttlefish viewing area.

The Point Lowly developments, including a deep-water port for bulk commodities, a desalination plant and a fuel refinery, have been on the State Green party's radar for about six months.

Mr Parnell said he was encouraged by the work of the coalition and that the campaign seemed to be more than a 'not in my backyard' issue, or a 'nimby' as he called it.

"What concerns me is a confrontational situation where (the Government and industry) impose the development on the community, it's a very poor way to preserve the environment and a very poor way to resolve the dispute," Mr Parnell said.

Mr Parnell has a long history with Whyalla, as he was the lawyer for the Red Dust Action Group when he was working for the Environmental Defenders Office.

"The way I see it, we've got a community here which isn't anti-development, a community whose livelihood depends on industrial development, but they realise there are limits and destroying Point Lowly and the cuttlefish is too much.

"I think that is an important part of the story, that Whyalla is not a town afraid of industrial development but even they have a limit, and this is where they draw the line."

Green's researcher and press officer Craig Wilkins accompanied Mr Parnell on the trip and said it was interesting there seemed to be some support in the community for the desalination plant but not for the other developments.

"Part of the reason we've come up is to get a sense, is it possible to tease apart these two, the desalination and the rest of it?" he said.

Point Lowly resident Des Chopping spoke to the Greens member on the balcony of his Point Lowly home, which looks out over the Gulf to the Flinders Ranges.

He said public servants in Adelaide don't appreciate the value of a recreational area such as Point Lowly to an industrial town.