Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly clips PM Anthony Albanese’s secret algal bloom crisis visit
KI Mayor Michael Pengilly has exposed an awkward truth about Anthony Albanese’s secret visit to the island, when the PM claimed he’d never met him.
Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly has lashed the Prime Minister’s secret visit to the island in the midst of the state’s algal bloom crisis.
In a visit to SA on Wednesday, Anthony Albanese branded the algal bloom devastating South Australia a “significant ecological event” and revealed $8.5m in new funding while visiting a Thebarton research laboratory.
In an unannounced trip to Kangaroo Island, Mr Albanese walked along the beach at Bay of Shoals, later posting pictures to social media, but snubbed local leaders and told reporters: “I don’t know who the Mayor is”.
Kangaroo Island Mayor Michael Pengilly told FIVEAA on Thursday morning the PM’s visit was nothing more than a photo op and criticised his failure to connect with local leaders or businesses.
“(I) just found it discourteous,” he said.
“I’ve dealt with many people in high positions, prime ministers and what not, and you treat them with the courtesy they deserve, no matter who they are, or who they represent.
“It’s like somebody coming into your house to say hello, give them a cup of coffee and whatnot, but no, that didn’t happen.”
Mr Pengilly said the visit was a missed opportunity to explore the real issues.
“(His visit) was just a photo op and, look, he could have gone to American River and seen American River Oysters struggling there on the bones of their bum, to quote them, or out to Yumbah Abalone where you can actually see the effects of what’s happened,” he said.
“I would have thought it would have been far better off doing that than having a photo op at the Kingscote boat ramp.”
“Then he went to a cafe and photos were taken everywhere up there and disappeared, I didn’t even know it’s here at that stage.”
Responding to the PM’s comments that he did not know the KI Mayor, Mr Pengilly revealed they had met before in late 2018 or early 2019 – at a Rex board dinner.
“The guest speaker was one Anthony Albanese, and he sat one seat away from me,” he said.
“I chatted away for probably 5-10 minutes … (we) had a good chat, he asked what Kangaroo Island was like, what happened here, et cetera.”
“He must have been on early onset dementia because I remember it quite clearly.
“I spent some time with him, actually, on the night, and probably sat there for two or three hours.”
Mr Pengilly said he welcomed new federal funding but hoped it would reach those who needed it the most.
“We’ll take the money and work something out with it, but our immediate concern is to get our industries going again, particularly the abalone farm which employs a lot of people, they’re back to pretty bare numbers in staff,” he said.
“At American River Oysters, (they are) actually bringing the oysters in from Coffin Bay, just so they can put something through their shop.
“The problem with the oysters is there’s not much level of toxin in them, but they’re out there getting bigger and bigger and bigger. So they’re now big oysters.
“They can’t harvest them, so it’s a nightmare for them. It’s just desperate times.
“We don’t know how long this thing’s here, and that’s what I think the Prime Minister could have done yesterday, talked to these people, had a look for himself, instead of wandering around getting a shot with locals in the coffee shop.”
Mr Albanese earlier on Wednesday morning walked along the Kangaroo Island beach with state speaker Leon Bignell, whose electorate includes Kangaroo Island, and professional fisher Rob Barrett.
“The algal bloom hitting South Australian coastal waters is devastating. It has a heartbreaking impact on our marine life, on our fishers, and on our communities,” Mr Albanese said in a post on X.
“We’re responding on all fronts: providing relief for those affected, new investments to restore our coasts, and long-term measures to better protect our environment.
“I came to Kangaroo Island today to see the impact for myself and hear directly from those affected.
“Climate change is real – that’s why we’re acting to deal with the damage today and take real action for the future.”
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