Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister representing the Prime Minister, Minister Wong. Last week I walked along the Ardrossan Jetty and saw hundreds of dead garfish and the occasional King George whiting and other things. They were all affected by the algal bloom. I took the time to visit several communities with the member for Grey, Mr Tom Venning, and met locals like Susannah Visser, who runs Gifts Port Vincent and who has seen her income drop by 14 per cent.

On Monday night, the Prime Minister, when referencing a $14 million support package, told 7.30 report:

That's for science and research; it's also for cleanup. It's also for potential mitigation …

He went on to say:

We're responding, giving support to the South Australian Government.

Minister, when will the Prime Minister give emergency support to South Australian communities and businesses?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Cadell, for the question. Thank you also for your interview on the ABC this morning. I didn't agree with all of your comments, obviously, but it did demonstrate a real—

Paul Scarr (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Immigration) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Flattering someone else!

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Do you want me to flatter you too, Paul? I'll get to you, okay? As a South Australian, I felt like you understood, as I do, and as so many of us do, what is happening in South Australia.

I was really pleased that Senator Watt went to Adelaide on Monday and engaged with the community there. He had a look at what was occurring on, I think, Glenelg Beach—

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

West Beach.

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

West Beach—so he got to see it firsthand. I think we are all deeply concerned by the widespread marine species deaths occurring in my home state. We have acted to provide the government with $14 million to support their response to this event, and the Premier put out a press release—I think it was yesterday—which set out the various parameters or bases of the assistance, which includes clean-up, coastal monitoring, small-business grants and so forth. I'm sure you're across the detail of it.

But I think there is a more profound problem here, which is that we know that the climate is changing, and we know that the best advice to date—I appreciate there is going to be a Senate inquiry, and scientists are also grappling with an event we've never seen before—tells us that, in part, a marine heatwave is one of the drivers behind this. We know our oceans are warming. I have spent a lot of my life on that coastline, and I can tell you— (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cadell, first supplementary?

Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, when we went down to the local caravan park at Stansbury, run by the Stansbury Progress Association, they told me that in the 48 hours prior to my arriving there they'd had 10 cancellations for November, the holiday season. That is 10 families choosing already not to spend their holidays down there. How much of the $14 million that the federal government has given will go to supporting regional tourism operators and other businesses who are going to be out of money for some time into the future?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

As I understand it, Senator—the comments of the Prime Minister and the Premier reflect this—this is a jointly funded $28 million package which is intended to assist with science and research and intended to assist with industry assistance in the form of small-business support grants. That's obviously a South Australian program, but we have contributed $14 million to this package. As part of that package, there is also additional funding for $4 million towards clean-up efforts along the beaches and coastline.

Bridget McKenzie (Victoria, National Party, Shadow Minister for Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

So nothing for tourist businesses?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

One of the differences between Senator Cadell and you, Senator McKenzie, is he hasn't sought to play politics with this. But we know what Senator McKenzie is like, don't we? We know what Senator McKenzie is like. You are always having a go about anything, and you always want to play politics— (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Cadell, second supplementary?

Ross Cadell (NSW, National Party, Shadow Minister for Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Minister, Steve Bowley was an oyster grower from the Stansbury region who told me he'd been unable to sell a single oyster for 79 days because of the infection—it's now up to 84 days. Bart Butson told me about a fellow Port Wakefield fisherman, a guy who in 2008 swam six hours after his boat sunk, whose catch quota is 7.5 tonnes of calamari but who is unable to catch nine. How much of this money is going to fishing industry and commercial fishers in South Australia?

Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

First, I am very aware of the impact on our fishers. Obviously the gentleman you describe represents one of a number in the industry. Because this toxic bloom is lethal for finfish, that has obviously affected a lot of commercial fishing as well. There is, of course, a concern about aquaculture, depending on how far it spreads. I'm not in a position to go through the detail of the grants, because we don't administer them, but I would say we all recognise this is unprecedented in scale. It has caused the destruction of marine life. It is an environmental or ecological disaster, and it is affecting key industries. Obviously we want to work to work out why this happens and how we can avert it happening again.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Minister. Senator Sterle.