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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-08-20 Daily Xml
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Grievance Debate

Algal Bloom

Mr PATTERSON (Morphett) (15:17): Marine life is dying, beaches we love are suffering and industry is on the line and the devastation from the algal bloom has locals very concerned, not only for the ocean but also the beaches from Somerton Park, Glenelg South, Glenelg and Glenelg North that are instrumental to the fabric of the Morphett community.

My family and I are members of the Glenelg Surf Life Saving Club as nippers or volunteer surf lifesavers and so I understand the affection that locals have for this beautiful part of the coastline. In fact, that is why each year I run Clean Up Australia Day events along those beaches and along the Patawalonga to give locals a way to have practical action for their local environment as well.

The devastating algal bloom is killing marine life along our coastline at unprecedented rates. Over 400 marine species have been affected. Our fish, our stingrays, even dolphins and seals, are washing up dead on our beaches, including in Morphett. The response from the state government has been nothing more than slow and fragmented, with The Advertiser reporting in July:

Mr Malinauskas has been a largely absent figure in any material sense on the algal bloom. Indeed, much of the state government's response has been simply to hope that the weather somehow sorts things out. That hasn't happened.

So after months of campaigning, the state Liberal opposition have successfully pressured the government into action. Shamefully, the South Australian Labor government only sent a formal request to the federal government just over two weeks ago. Locals I speak to regularly say there has been a lack of clarity about what is going on. There are immediate questions around our local beaches and access to them, but also: what does the future look like?

That is why, at the start of the month, I hosted an algal bloom community forum. It brought together marine biologist Anita Thomas; sustainability scientist Andrew Lake; KI Ocean Safari's Tony Coppins; a commercial fisher from Port Wakefield, Bart Butson; and resort owner Steve Finlayson. You will remember Anita was instrumental in constructing the Glenelg shellfish reef that I was proud to be a part of funding back in 2020.

The Glenelg shellfish reef is the size of two Adelaide Ovals, made up of native oysters. They filter the seawater but also provide habitat that supports crabs, sponges and fish. The algal bloom forum quickly reached capacity, showing the huge level of community concern about all the marine life being killed and washing up on the shore. Anita explained how the algal bloom is expanding, that it is not only replicating by splitting but also sexually via cysts. What really hit home to the audience was when Anita related that the overseas experiences of similar algal blooms have lasted for long periods of time, such as in Ireland back in the eighties where it lasted five years, went away, then came back a decade later.

Andrew explained how nutrients, especially nitrogen, coming from stormwater and land use were a key enabler of the algal growth. He made the point that sheeting home the blame entirely to climate change will just cause inaction and delay, which is certainly what we have seen from this state Labor government. He said that, internationally, algal blooms are treated as local problems and are therefore acted upon locally. He also impressed upon us the need to act quickly to get on top of it early.

From a fishing and tourism perspective, going out fishing or boating is very confronting, with the surface of the ocean littered with dead fish in parts and minimal fish to catch or see. The speakers also identified the need to develop a long-term plan to increase resilience as it is more than likely that the algal bloom will happen again. But there were positive takeaways because, despite the algal bloom decimating a lot of marine life, the oysters on the Glenelg shellfish reef were thriving as they filter the algae from the water and help get the local marine ecosystem back into balance.

The Liberal opposition has repeatedly called on the government to expand its relief package and hold a royal commission into the cause of the algal bloom and what steps the government can take. Last week, I welcomed the federal Leader of the Opposition, Sussan Ley, to Morphett, and we stood near the Broadway Kiosk and both called on the federal government to acknowledge that the algal bloom is a natural disaster. Both the Liberal opposition and I will fight for action, for accountability and for protection for our coastal communities.

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