Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is to the Minister for the Environment and Water, Senator Watt. The toxic algal bloom in South Australia has been wreaking havoc on our state—on our fishing industry, our tourism industry and our community. Our beaches may be closed over summer. Our beaches are littered with dead fish, dolphins, seals and rays. Isn't it true, Minister, that, if this devastation were happening on Bondi Beach, you would have spent a bit longer than 11 minutes checking it out?

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

Thank you, Senator Hanson-Young. It is a shame that Senator Hanson-Young is so intent on playing politics with this very serious environmental event. The bit she left out of her question was the fact that when I visited Adelaide last week I announced $14 million in funding from the federal government to support the response to and recovery from the algal bloom. You forgot that little bit. But you're right: I did, while I was in Adelaide, take the opportunity to go and inspect one of the beaches with the member for Boothby, Louise Miller-Frost, who's been advocating very strongly on this issue for some time.

And I was also pleased to see, this week, Premier Malinauskas make further announcements about the joint federal-state response to this event, which included some of that funding, which will go not only towards supporting greater scientific research to understand the causes and effects of and responses to this event but also towards supporting the many businesses who are impacted by this event. I think we've all understood the damage that this event has caused, of course, to the marine environment, which is devastating, as I've said before. We've also seen the terrible impact that it's having on a range of businesses in South Australia, whether they be in the fishing industry, oyster farmers or tourism businesses—and others as well.

So, as a result of the work that we've done, this government is not sitting there throwing stones about this event; we're actually acting to provide the kind of support that South Australians have been looking for. So I'll leave it for Senator Hanson-Young to continue making her political pointscoring about this event. What we're focused on is supporting the South Australian government to respond to the event, and the South Australian government were very clear in expressing their gratitude for the fact that they do have a federal government who's keen to work with them on this event. (Time expired)

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

Senator Hanson-Young, first supplementary?

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

HANSON-YOUNG (—) (): Well, $14 million is something, but it's been pretty slow coming and it's pretty minuscule. It's going to hardly touch the sides of what our state is going to need. Minister, when will you fix the rules—as requested by the South Australian government themselves, the fishing industry and the community—to declare this a national disaster, because that is what it is?

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

Thanks, Senator Hanson-Young, for the question. As I've pointed out in private meetings with Senator Hanson-Young, both before and after this event, and as I've said publicly, the government has approached this event as being more like a drought than a natural disaster in the sense of a flood, a cyclone or a bushfire. The reason for that is that, when you think about those sorts of natural disasters, they are rapid events that pass through communities, leaving a very devastating trail, as opposed to this kind of event and as opposed to a drought, which are long-running events that build up over a period of time and that can't be fixed, in the sense of doing something to the event—and we are all waiting for the weather to intervene as soon as possible to disperse this event. But, in the meantime, what we're providing is that $14 million as half of a $28 million package, and that is every single dollar that the South Australian government asked for. Senator Hanson-Young hasn't been able to come up with a proposal about what we should do, other than get out there and issue press releases.

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

Senator Hanson-Young, second supplementary?

Sarah Hanson-Young (SA, Australian Greens) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The algal bloom is yet another canary in the coalmine for climate change. Who will you make pay for the damage of this disaster? It's time that you made Santos and Woodside pay for the damage of their toxic fossil fuels. Will you make them pay?

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

Senator Hanson-Young, I'm very proud to be part of a government that believes it's the responsibility of the government to provide support to the population when they are in need, so that's what we've done. We've used public funding—taxpayer funding—to provide support to the South Australian environment and to the South Australian community as they need that. We're not actually interested in playing the kinds of political games that the Greens are playing around this to advance some sort of political pointscoring. What we've actually done is work alongside the South Australian government to provide them with the support that they requested, every single dollar they requested, within 24 hours of receiving the request. We're working very cooperatively with them to make sure that support is provided. Again, if the Greens want to focus on issuing press releases, coming up with slogans, holding rallies about this event, that's your right. What we're actually about is providing the scientific research funding and the financial support that people who are being impacted by this event desperately need.