Radio star David Penberthy fires up over report SA’s toxic algal bloom ignored by federal government

Media star David Penberthy has let rip at the “Sydney-centric” government over reports it ignored warnings from top marine scientists of SA’s impending toxic algae disaster.

An explosive revelation that leading marine scientists warned the government of an unprecedented environmental disaster and it fell on deaf ears has been met with outrage.

New reports that government leaders were warned of SA’s toxic algal bloom problem before the issue ravaged the coastline has been met with criticism on radio on Friday.

FIVEAA host and columnist at The Advertiser, David Penberthy, was scathing of the federal government’s response to what is a “catastrophe”.

“Some of the world’s most eminent marine biologists who were onto this from the get-go couldn’t even get a response,” he said.

Columnist and FIVEAA co-host David Penberthy. Picture Matt Turner.

Dead sea life from algal blooms at Foul Bay, Yorke Peninsula. Picture: Stefan Andrews courtesy Great Southern Reef Foundation

Marine creatures including hundreds of fish have died, after severe weather conditions that impacted the southeastern coastline caused an algal species, Karenia mikimotoi to bloom in the Coorong.

“There is no other environmental issue in Australia that matters to this extent right now and they don’t even know it’s happening.

“(Residents) send us heartbreaking photographs of dead fish, dead sharks … you can’t take your kids to the beach … the last three days the number one environmental story has been ‘it’s a bit wet up in Sydney’, it’s screwed up.”

His passionate tirade came after Australian Financial Review political editor Phil Coorey appeared on FIVEAA and revealed a group of more than 12 scientists and marine experts had written to then-environment minister Tanya Plibersek in October last year with their concerns of the threat of a developing algal bloom in SA waters.

He said the group “got knocked back”.

The Advertiser understands Minister Plibersek did respond at the time, but the details of that response are unknown and her office declined to comment.

Mr Coorey said he spoke to professor Graham Edgar from the University of Tasmania’s Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies and others involved in work with the Great Southern Reef Foundation and could see the desperation in their reports.

Dead sea life from algal blooms at Foul Bay, Yorke Peninsula. Picture: Stefan Andrews courtesy Great Southern Reef Foundation

“They gave us this letter, and there it was, they wrote to Plibersek last year, when they first detected (the algae bloom) in the ocean … they got knocked back,” he said.

Mr Coorey said he was alarmed by the inaction and the lack of understanding of what was happening in SA.

“I’ve actually raised it with very, very senior people in government – I won’t say who, and they weren’t even aware of it,” he said.

He said the group wrote to new environment minister Murray Watts on May 27 and the group requested a meeting with the minister but were unable to secure one.

According to Mr Coorey, a spokeswoman for Watts’ office said the federal government was monitoring the situation but the SA government was the lead responder.

Mr Penberthy blasted the federal government’s response to the SA coastal crisis.

“In this Sydney-centric country of ours, how is it that an unprecedented environmental catastrophe can be unfolding on our shores, and not only Canberra not doing anything about it, they don’t even seem to know that it’s even happening,” he said.

“A group of the most eminent marine scientists and marine biologists in the country wrote to the then Environment Minister Tanya Plibersek, saying ‘listen, there is an algal bloom that has emerged in South Australia, the scale of it threatens to be vast, the damage that it is set to do will be unprecedented, we need to investigate.”

It comes as the state government announced on Thursday it is conducting further tests to determine if the algal bloom affecting South Australia’s coastline has entered West Lakes and parts of the Port River.

Preliminary water samples from West Lakes confirmed the presence of Karenia mikimotoi, the species of algae first detected on the Fleurieu Peninsula in March.

Originally published as Radio star David Penberthy fires up over report SA’s toxic algal bloom ignored by federal government