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

I wish to update the Senate on developments regarding the algal bloom in my home state of South Australia. We South Australians love our beaches and our coastline. We are rightly proud of them. They are without doubt some of the most beautiful in the world and they are part of our way of life. For many South Australians they provide a livelihood. Like so many other South Australians, I have very fond memories of a lot of time spent on the Fleurieu, long days at Goolwa, taking on the waves at Boomer and camping down the Coorong. Now, as a parent, I get to experience the wonder of Horseshoe Bay at Port Elliot all over again. My mum lived for many years down at Carrickalinga, on the other side of the peninsula, a serene place of respite for many from Adelaide and beyond.

So I feel the sense of alarm and despair that so many other South Australians feel as we watch dead sea life wash up on our shores. The algal bloom we are experiencing in South Australia is unprecedented and extreme. It was first detected in March at Waitpinga Beach. Since then it has spread over 4,400 square kilometres. We have never seen anything like it. We've never seen a bloom of its scale or duration anywhere in Australia. It is affecting Kangaroo Island, the Fleurieu, Gulf St Vincent, Spencer Gulf, the Coorong and our metropolitan beaches. The bloom has been linked to the mass mortality of over 400 different species, including many species of finfish, sharks, rays, crustaceans and more. Horrifically, we have seen the extensive wash-up of these species on our shores.

On Monday, the Minister for the Environment and Water travelled to Adelaide and announced that the federal government will investment $14 million in support, acting on a request from the state government for assistance. On Tuesday, Premier Malinauskas announced the next stage of the South Australian government's response, indicating they will match our investment. Together this funding is going towards: science and research, including the development of a dedicated harmful algal bloom response plan for future blooms; a public communication strategy to include weekly media updates for the public; public forums for those communities impacted and public information campaigns; industry assistance in the form of small business support grants of $10,000, building on the licence fee relief for affected fishers announced earlier this month; and $4 million towards community support and clean-up efforts along our beaches and coastline.

Earlier this month, before some of my overseas travels, I was briefed on the situation by the Deputy Premier of South Australia and minister for the environment, Dr Susan Close. She told me then what scientists have said publicly, that unfortunately there is no quick fix for the algal bloom. So I want to assure South Australians that the federal government will continue to support the South Australian government in their response.

That is why we are supporting a bipartisan Senate inquiry to examine the causes, frequency, scale and duration of events such as algal blooms—to better understand the current situation and inform preparation for future outbreaks. Whilst Australia has always faced damaging natural weather and environmental events, we have all long been warned that their intensity, frequency and unpredictability will increase due to climate change. This is why, when we came to government, we pledged to end a decade of denial and delay on climate by legislating a target of net zero emissions by 2050 while working towards reducing Australia's emissions by 43 per cent by 2030. On ocean protection, I am proud that Australia now protects more of our oceans than any other country in the world, some 52 per cent. But this algal bloom shows that the work of protecting the natural environment couldn't be more urgent.

The Liberals, particularly those in South Australia, some of whom don't even believe in climate change, want the federal government to abandon the net zero target.

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

Senator McLachlan?

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

Not Senator McLachlan—he is one of the sensible ones. I think he and Senator Antic or Mr Tarzia should have a conversation about what the state Liberals want to do. Unlike the South Australian Liberal Party—present company excepted—I want to assure South Australians that the Albanese Labor government understand the seriousness of the situation and, with the South Australian government, are taking action to restore and protect our beaches, to support those impacted economically, and, most fundamentally, to take action on climate change.