Algal Bloom

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (15:12): My question is to the Minister for Environment. Did any locations have an increase in Karenia species algal bloom count at the latest update and, if so, how many and which locations?

The Hon. L.P. HOOD (Adelaide—Minister for Climate, Environment and Water) (15:12): I thank the honourable member for his question. We have, I am advised, around 95 testing sites, and I am happy to get you the exact number of where they increased. We did have a number of the sites decrease as well, and then a majority remained steady. As we have seen each week as part of the task force, we do see that update in regard to the various testing sites and that allows us to determine the dynamic nature of the bloom. We know that on one morning a beach could have foam, discoloured water, etc., but by the afternoon it could be fine.

In fact, I had the pleasure of being in the member's electorate on the long weekend; I joined him at an event on the Sunday. The day before, I was able to enjoy a day at the beach on Horseshoe Bay in the member's electorate, and it was wonderful to see the beach full of families enjoying the long weekend. As we know, in the Fleurieu area, where we do understand and advise that the bloom had originated, we now see that it is clear in many respects in that area. That really does speak to the dynamic nature of the bloom and that is why we have our algal bloom taskforce that looks at these various testing sites.

As we can see, it did start in one of those areas around the Fleurieu, and by the time of the long weekend you could see thousands of families enjoying our wonderful beaches. So we will continue our work with the task force ensuring that we receive those updates and then we will provide those updates to the media directly after the task force.