South Coast Algal Bloom

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD (15:02): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking questions of the Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing regarding junior and senior surf sports in South Australia.

Leave granted.

The Hon. D.G.E. HOOD: There have recently been reports in the media of parents being reluctant to allow their children who are involved in the Nippers program at the various surf lifesaving centres across South Australia to swim in the ocean due to the state's algal bloom problem. The president of the West Beach Surf Life Saving Club, Graeme Cunningham, has said publicly in the last week or so in relation to this matter, and I quote, 'We monitor the beach, and we'll be looking at the EPA and surf lifesaving website to give us updates on how the water quality is.'

Yesterday in the other place when referencing the state government's plans to monitor water safety, the Premier said, and again I quote:

One of the things we want to do is make sure we are providing as much information as we reasonably can to the community around the algal bloom, the location of the algal bloom and the testing analysis that's done around the algal bloom. But one of the challenges that members in this place should be cognisant of is the ever-changing and evolving nature of the algal bloom.

You can test a body of water in the morning and it might be all clear, and then by the afternoon it might not be, and vice versa.

My questions to the minister are:

1. Given the unpredictable nature of the algal bloom, is the minister confident that accurate advice pertaining to water safety can be conveyed in a timely manner to ensure children, especially participating in surf sports this summer, will not be at risk of harmful algae exposure?

2. What support is the minister providing surf lifesaving clubs in areas affected by the algal bloom to provide contingency plans for junior and senior surf sports should the algal bloom render their beaches unsafe?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:03): I thank the honourable member for his question, and congratulations on your new portfolio area. It's a really good question and one that I was pondering as well. As we have heard many times in this chamber, this is obviously unprecedented and it is something we haven't been through before. I know that the Premier and the ministers involved in this have done incredible work in providing the package as it stands at the moment at $28 million.

In regard to recreational activities, especially our aquatic activities, early on I reached out to Surf Life Saving and asked, considering their experience and knowledge of the ocean not only as rescuers but also as protectors of our ocean and our beach line, for them to be involved in the industry reference group that is part of government and to bring that knowledge to the table so that it can be shared with government bodies, government ministers and other relevant agencies. They have been there for that very point: to be able to make sure that what would be seen as appropriate, how we should be utilising our beaches as we progress through this, is how we should be keeping our communities safe.

So they are that voice at that table, and it is an important voice to have there and one that is very well respected. Also in partnership with Surf Life Saving, I think for 10 September—I will correct that if that is incorrect—an invitation is coming your way in regard to bringing the sporting groups together as appropriate. For aquatic sporting groups an invitation will be made available so that our aquatics groups can come together, making sure we are having that one voice of truth, and that information is either coming from a government website or the Surf Life Saving website.