Algal Bloom

Mr BASHAM (Finniss) (15:39): My question again is to the Minister for Environment. Where is brevetoxin testing conducted, and how long does it take before the results are known?

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier, Minister for Defence and Space Industries) (15:39): We have addressed the issue of brevetoxin on a number of occasions, and I am happy to repeat some of the detail. Brevetoxin testing has an important purpose in regard to our shellfish, particularly in respect of oysters but also pipis and mussels. The brevetoxin testing capability in this country hasn't existed and that is why the government, through our partnership with the federal government, has sought to stand up an Australian-first brevetoxin testing regime, and that is now very much in train.

Obviously, the company has been selected at Agilex, in Thebarton. They have now started testing and they are going through the appropriate accreditation process which has to meet requisite and global standards, and we are in the process of standing it up. What we are very proud of as a government is we are seeing us standing up this testing capability as being an Australian first, and it's happening here in South Australia. We have seen the South Australian science industry and research industry respond with extraordinary speed.

Standing up this testing capability is something that we haven't seen ever before, and they are doing it in a way that is a great representation of our capability in this state and we will be the envy of the rest of the nation. Why do we test for brevetoxin? Well, we test for brevetoxin to make sure that our shellfish in particular don't have it. They are the ones that have the capability to accumulate it.

In respect of brevetoxin testing of the water, our chief marine scientist in this state, Mr Mike Steer, has made the position clear that where we see the algae in the water, particularly with respect to the foam, then it should be assumed that a brevetoxin is present. There is no particular need to test it. It should be assumed that, where there is the algae, there is the brevetoxin.

We test for the brevetoxin in food, because we don't want people to ingest it in a way that you are not going to at the beach. People don't go around drinking seawater and, if they do drink seawater where there is algae they should be advised there is every possibility or every likelihood that brevetoxin is present. So there is no particular need to test for it—we test it where we need to test for it, and that is in our accumulated species, which represents shellfish, and that is where we are standing up the capability.

We anticipate that, within the next four to six weeks, maybe sooner, Agilex will be fully accredited, which will again represent an exceptionally expeditious effort. There are people working around the clock on this, and that will mean a better outcome for our seafood industry that requires this testing. We particularly think of organisations like oyster growers in American River or in Stansbury, where they remain closed. We think of Goolwa Pipi. We have seen some of those places experience downturns. Tragically, in American River we saw the downturn; it was able to be opened up again but only to be subsequently closed.

Speedier turnaround time in terms of testing will provide us with a capability we haven't had before and will do a lot to enable a degree of confidence to exist amongst operators in those sectors to make decisions and know where they are at without having to wait for the lag time to get to and from New Zealand. So this is a good capability, it will be proudly South Australian, an Australian first and, again, a real example of what we are capable of as a state when we work collaboratively with industry.