Premier Peter Malinauskas unveils action plan to tackle SA’s algal bloom crisis

The Premier has finally revealed a plan to tackle the algal bloom crisis. But one key factor is still hitting a brick wall in Canberra.

Premier Peter Malinauskas is scrambling to tackle the algal bloom ravaging South Australian seas, unveiling a $28m action plan headlined by $10,000 small business grants and expanded coastal monitoring.

In a bid to counter criticism of inaction, Mr Malinauskas on Tuesday afternoon announced a $14m state contribution, adding to a one-off $14m federal injection revealed on Monday.

Mr Malinauskas delivered a pointed message to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to declare the algal bloom crisis a natural disaster, which federal Environment Minister Murray Watt on Monday repeatedly refused to do.

Opposition Leader Vincent Tarzia condemned the “last-minute rescue package” for largely ignoring pleas from fishing and marine industries crippled by the disaster, saying “a mere $10,000” fell far short when many had not caught a single fish in months.

Criteria for the $10,000 small business grants are expected to be detailed within a week, with Mr Malinauskas using a fishing tackle shop as an example of firms relying on the “pristine nature of our marine environment”.

Asked by The Advertiser whether he wanted to announce the action plan earlier, Mr Malinauskas, who returned on Monday from a fortnight’s leave, said the issue had “evolved pretty quickly”.

“The real expectation was that into June, July, you would see the algal bloom disperse as the cooler temperatures came. It’s really since we’ve seen mid-July come about this is exacerbated because it has changed the thinking on this and that’s when we started to see this package,” he said.

Real-time sensors, or buoys, will be funded with an $8.5m slice of the state’s $14m contribution, aimed at expanding early detection and monitoring of harmful algal bloom species.

Peter Broelman’s cartoon from today’s The Advertiser.

This also will include analysing satellite imagery and oceanographic monitoring, aimed at rapid detection and early warning systems for industry.

Mr Malinauskas intensified his call for the federal government to unlock more funding by declaring the bloom a natural disaster, requiring existing legislation to be modified, and held out the prospect of more state funding if the crisis continued.

Asked by The Advertiser to deliver his message to Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on the issue, Mr Malinauskas said natural disasters were coming in new and different forms and did not “fit in a neat box of a human-described criteria … for bureaucratic purposes”.

“The idea that one government can get itself off the hook by putting a set of criteria on things, it’s just not the way it works in reality,” he said.

“In our federation, we have a great history in this country of where we see natural disasters occur, we get together and we confront the challenge and do something about it.”

Senator Watt on Monday afternoon unveiled a “one-off $14m package” to deal with the unprecedented extreme event, rather than specifically-labelled disaster funding.

The joint package also includes:

RAPID assessment of fish stocks and fisheries, including remote underwater video and dive surveys to monitor near-shore marine ecosystems and sanctuary zones.

META-analysis of pictures, videos and other citizen science records supplied by the public to help understand the bloom’s impact.

DEVELOPING a plan to tackle future blooms and funding clean-ups of the current outbreak.

PUBLIC forums for coastal communities and a Harmful Algal Bloom Taskforce to meet every Thursday.

Mr Tarzia called on the government to release data, reports and evidence that “led to their lack of action”, arguing marine scale fishers needed full fee relief and financial support modelled on the JobKeeper scheme offered during the Covid-19 pandemic.

“This cobbled-together support package smacks of a government scrambling to save face for its lack of understanding around the scale of this issue,” Mr Tarzia said.

“They’ve had to be embarrassed into action through public scrutiny and, in doing so, have unveiled a half-baked package that misses the mark.”

The SA Business Chamber cautiously welcomed the package, saying $10,000 might be good enough for some firms but not touch the sides for others, plus the funds would need to be widely available for affected firms.

Federal cabinet signed off on the package on Monday morning, with Senator Watt visiting Glenelg North beach on Monday afternoon.

SA Premier Peter Malinauskas wants the Federal Government to declare the SA algae crisis a natural disaster. Picture: Tim Joy

Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt finally came to Adelaide to inspect the situation on Monday. Picture: Tim Joy

Tens of thousands of sea creatures have been killed, more than 400 species ravaged and the fishing industry cruelled since the devastating bloom was first detected off the Fleurieu Peninsula in March.

Both state and federal governments have been accused of inaction over the ocean carnage, with critics saying this would have triggered an outcry if east coast beaches were similarly devastated.

Asked by The Advertiser on Monday if South Australians were owed an apology for a sluggish response compared to if the bloom had annihilated Sydney or Gold Coast beaches, Senator Watt said he had recognised the calls for a federal minister on the ground to deal with the situation.

“It’s obviously a very distressing event for all South Australians and, I think, the whole country,” he said.

“There’s no doubting whatsoever that this is a very serious environmental event facing South Australia.”

Originally published as Premier Peter Malinauskas unveils action plan to tackle SA’s algal bloom crisis