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House of Assembly - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-09-04 Daily Xml
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Algal Bloom

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA (Hartley—Leader of the Opposition) (14:07): My question again is to the Premier. Why hasn't the government declared the current harmful algal bloom emergency as a natural disaster under the Emergency Management Act 2004? What community outcomes are considered when declaring a natural disaster? With your leave, sir, and that of the house, I will explain.

Leave granted.

The Hon. V.A. TARZIA: On 22 July this year, the Premier, in an interview with ABC News Breakfast, when describing the harmful algal bloom crisis, said:

From the South Australian government's perspective I want to be really clear about this. This is a natural disaster.

The Hon. P.B. MALINAUSKAS (Croydon—Premier) (14:07): As I am sure the Leader of the Opposition will appreciate, a declaration of major emergencies, or emergencies and the like, are decisions that are vested in the State Coordinator, namely the police commissioner. It is the South Australian government, though—that is—under the auspices of the task force—in cabinet that is doing all the work on the algal bloom response. There is nothing that the government hasn't been able to do under the current management arrangements that it would be able to do if there was a declaration from the police commissioner.

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