Motions

South Australian Shellfish Quality Assurance Program

The Hon. T.A. FRANKS (16:44): I move:

That there be laid upon the table of this council, by the Leader of the Government within 21 days of the passing of this resolution, all documents produced or dated from 1 January 2025 regarding testing related to the SA Shellfish Quality Assurance Program along with any additional data generated in response to 2025 calls or contact with the Fishwatch hotline, including marine and non-marine species deaths and including any related plankton counts and water quality assessments at locations of fish kills.

My speech will be brief, although this matter is of great importance. This motion asks that SA Shellfish Quality Assurance Program data, along with any additional data generated in response to phone calls to Fishwatch at the locations of fish kills which involve either marine or non-marine species, be made public. Preferably, this should be done through regular summaries as based in places like California, or indeed closer to home in Tasmania or New South Wales, as they do. In this case, I am bringing to this council an order for production of documents motion to see the parliament use its powers to start what hopefully will be a process of more transparency around these issues.

As we know, the algal bloom off our coast is seeing unbelievably challenging deaths and causing harm to human and other species alike. Unfortunately, conspiracy theories, unsupported theories, and a lack of information means that recreational fishers do not know where they stand, the community does not know where they stand, and when the public does not have the information they need to make good decisions those sorts of conspiracy theories can abound.

Tasmania, in particular, provides a model that this government should be following in terms of releasing biotoxin data on a regular basis. This motion, if passed, and I intend to bring it to a vote in the next week of sitting, will compel the government across all of the agencies that have been addressing what is a crisis to release that data for the certainty of industry, for the certainty of community, for the certainty of public health, and for the good of our democracy. With that, I commend the motion.

Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.