Question Time

South Coast Algal Bloom

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:22): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development regarding Dr Anderson.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: Yesterday in this place, the minister insisted that Dr Anderson had not been asked to refrain from speaking to the media. Yet this morning, on FIVEaa, presenters recounted that Dr Anderson had initially agreed to appear but then became, and I quote, 'entirely unavailable' after contact with PIRSA and the government. Given this contradiction, my question to the minister is: has Dr Anderson at any point been directed to not speak with the media other than when standing with government representatives?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:23): I thank the honourable member for her question. I do wonder: is she aware of the media conference that Dr Anderson did today after the Harmful Algal Bloom Taskforce meeting? Members may recall that each week, after the Harmful Algal Bloom Taskforce, there is a press conference in order to update the media, and therefore the South Australian community, about any most recent testing, about any new developments. He was obviously available for that. He was available for questions, and I think that is very helpful.

At the task force meeting this morning, we heard from Dr Anderson, talking about his experience in the United States with harmful algal blooms and also the experiences elsewhere around the globe. He used examples from Russia and Alaska, as well as two different examples in the United States, referring to both the things that have behaved as expected and those that have not.

As we have said on numerous occasions, this harmful algal bloom is unprecedented in terms of its scale and its duration. That is why we continue to engage with experts around the globe, as well as elsewhere around the country, in what can be learnt both through this bloom but also from experiences elsewhere. I would like to thank Dr Anderson for making himself available. He has had multiple meetings this week with, for example, SARDI scientists, with other government departments, as well as others who are experts in the field.