Algal Bloom

Mr TELFER (Flinders) (14:46): My question is to the Premier. Has the Premier requested the Prime Minister introduce a JobKeeper type of program to provide financial support for businesses and workers impacted by the harmful algal bloom crisis? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

Mr TELFER: In a recent media interview, the Premier said that the Prime Minister has done everything the Premier has asked of him, but further financial support doesn't seem to be one of those requests.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:47): That is not an accurate characterisation of my remarks at all. I have made clear that we have made a number of requests of the commonwealth regarding financial support for the response to the algal bloom. That has been forthcoming. I have also made clear, certainly in the public realm in a number of forums, that our intention is that, as we develop the summer plan with the intention of releasing it in October, as I have publicly foreshadowed, including I think in this place, we will be going to the commonwealth and asking for their assistance again. In fact, only today I understand the Deputy Premier herself has spoken again with—

The Hon. S.E. Close: Yesterday actually.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS: —yesterday—Minister Watt. The Prime Minister is currently overseas, but the Prime Minister is well abreast that we have a request that is coming, and I have made that clear. The proposition of a JobKeeper type of arrangement is unique in its nature. We have only seen that for one event in Australia's history through countless natural disasters, but we are developing the summer plan and we will be asking the federal government for support to that.

In respect of business support—and this is important—only yesterday I met with another organisation representing the recreational fishing sector in an industry context (not the rec fishers themselves) and again the point was made, which seems to be a consistent theme from every business affected by the algal bloom, that the one thing they want more than government support is customers. That is what they want.

Of all parties, the Liberal Party would have a familiarity with the fact that enterprises in this state are not looking for government cash, they are looking for customers. In some instances, there are good reasons why the algal bloom has denied businesses customers. We should support them accordingly, and we have been—and we intend to continue that.

However, there are other instances where businesses have been affected by the algal bloom because they don't have customers for no good reason. There are many parts of our economy and our coastline that are completely unaffected by the algal bloom; there is no algae on their shoreline, there is no algae in their waterways. People should be visiting there more than anywhere, given that fact, yet they aren't experiencing that patronage or custom because of the perception of the algal bloom. We know there are some people in South Australia who are not eating South Australian seafood—not because there is a good reason not to, but because of the perception of the algal bloom.

That is why facts matter, because if you run around espousing facts that are coming out of AI, or that are a plain fabrication, there are victims to that crime. It is not the parliament or the media or the government: the victims of that crime are the people in our community who are actually experiencing pain as a result of this natural disaster.

The rest of South Australia looks to all of us to get it right. They look to all of us to rely on trusted sources of information when we talk about the algal bloom, not to run around with AI-generated sources of information. So there are victims to your crime, and you need to treat that seriously.