Tom Venning (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I spoke on Tuesday about being smarter as we go about the business of representing the people of Australia, of tackling solutions, not headlines, of listening to people and acting before the symptoms blow up and become unmanageable. There's no greater example of the need for Labor governments to do better than the algal bloom that has been crippling South Australia's coastline, killing marine life in the Gulf of St Vincent and now affecting the Spencer Gulf, in Port Lincoln and now Franklin Harbour, where they're closing down mussel and oyster operations.

It took four months for the South Australian government to take any meaningful action. During that time, marine scientists, oyster farmers, fishers and small-business operators were desperately calling out, to raise the alarm. The calls went unanswered until the story finally made headlines, when thousands of dead fish and marine life washed up on Adelaide's suburban beaches, not Edithburgh's. It took public outrage to drag the government to West Beach, where they kicked around some sand, posed for some photos in front of dead fish and announced a $14 million package. Even then, the support on offer appeared rushed and inconsistent. For example, a caravan park might qualify but a B&B won't. A tackle shop is eligible but a surf shop misses out. This is yet another case of a flat-footed Labor government hoping a problem will quietly disappear instead of listening to those directly affected and acting—or, worse, refusing to take responsibility and blaming it all on climate change.

Governments must do better. Our coastal communities and the seafood industry deserve more.

Last week I had the great pleasure of calling 10 volunteer led organisations across my electorate to let them know they had been approved for funding under the Stronger Communities Program. Three groups, based in Oodnadatta, Smoky Bay, Minnipa, Kyancutta, Coffin Bay, Port Germein, Burra, Melrose and Wallaroo, do incredible work for their communities. For many of them, the grant funding will make a real and immediate difference. That's especially important at a time when so many volunteer organisations are doing it tough, stretched thin by financial pressures and now burdened with additional ATO reporting requirements for not-for-profits. That's why I'm deeply disappointed to learn the Labor government sought to axe this program prior the last election. At the eleventh hour, they reinstated it, now with much narrower eligibility criteria. Many small groups, especially in the regions, found themselves shut out of capital improvement funding altogether, a further slap in the face for volunteers who have already weathered years of drought.

I hope there will be a round 10 of the Stronger Communities Program. I urge the government to restore the original guidelines, which worked well. Regional Australia is the backbone of the country. We should be backing our volunteers, not making it harder for them to get the support they need.