Algal Bloom

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (15:21): The Labor government has failed our community. All along the coast from Glenelg North down to Glenelg South, the toxic algal bloom has wreaked havoc on marine life, the natural environment, our local economy and the health of the local community. It is a community that has seen firsthand that Labor has completely mismanaged the handling of the algal bloom. We have had the Premier say that the algal bloom is not toxic, yet now, shockingly, we have scientific experts who have identified that it is toxic. The Premier's discredited spin has left a discoloured, stinking stain on this Malinauskas Labor government.

My community feels let down by the response from this government to the algal bloom. Locals have had to deal with thousands of marine animals washing up dead on our beaches and algae-laced foam blanketing our coastline. The government has tried to downplay the seriousness of the toxic algal bloom to spin its way out of the reality that they have been slow to act and have been playing catch-up.

In the past week we have seen two different reports lay bare the slow, fragmented response to the algal bloom by both the state and federal governments. One report by 20 eminent scientists identified a new and highly toxic algae species as the main culprit behind South Australia's devastating algal bloom.

This is in stark contrast to the Premier's attempts to gaslight South Australians over the preceding months saying that the algal bloom is not toxic, such as one time when he said, 'A lot of people refer to the algal bloom as the "toxic algal bloom"—it's not toxic.' Despite the Premier's assurances to the contrary, experts now say that the algal species causing mass fish deaths, dolphin deaths and serious health symptoms in beachgoers produces powerful neurotoxins. Marine science professor Gustaaf Hallegraeff said, 'It's much more serious—it impacts the nervous system.'

A Senate inquiry into the algal bloom also released their report, which outlined that the response from both the state and federal governments has been slow and inadequate. It revealed that the state government became aware of the algal bloom in March but that in the first few months the government expected the toxic algal bloom to go away with winter storms. Meanwhile we had massive fish deaths occurring across the South Australian coastline.

Then, in July, with the government sitting on the sidelines—the Premier even took a holiday to a beach presumably without algae—thousands of dead marine animals started to wash up on Glenelg's beaches. While the Premier was on holiday, I was visiting our beaches regularly to see firsthand the devastation to marine life. Having lived in Morphett for the last 20 years and spending countless hours volunteering as surf lifesaver or just enjoying the coast, I understand the emotional distress that so many people in our community had because of this devastation.

The impact of the toxic algal bloom has been significant. It has affected both mental and physical health. It impacts people's daily lives. One resident of Glenelg told the Senate committee:

The response from both the state and federal governments has been perceived by many in South Australia as slow and inadequate. This feeling of being let down has been widespread.

We then found out the government's first formal request for commonwealth funding and support was made in July of 2025.

To fill the void of information from the state government, I held an algal bloom community forum to bring together independent marine experts to try to answer some of the questions that my community had. Again, the state government was playing catch-up when they started rolling out their own forums after this, with the Premier controlling the message. When the beaches started being blanketed in discoloured foam, members of my community started contacting me complaining of respiratory and skin conditions. The Senate inquiry report details concerns about the timelines and accessibility of updated health advice, particularly for those with pre-existing health conditions like asthma, only coming in September.

It seems the state government's response has been all about saving face rather than protecting the community, and my coastal community of Morphett is fed up with the excuses of the state Labor government. They were too slow to act when they found out about the algal bloom. They have botched the public messaging for at-risk members of our community and they have slow-walked relief to local businesses. We have been let down and both the Liberal opposition and I will not stop fighting for our coastal communities.