The Hon. R.A. SIMMS (16:16): I move:
That this council—
1. Notes that the ongoing microalgae bloom (Karenia mikimotoi) has grown to more than 4,000 square kilometres.
2. Recognises the harm being caused by the algal bloom, including:
(a) significant marine wildlife deaths;
(b) health impacts for humans who come into contact with water or foam;
(c) loss of income for businesses in the tourism, primary industry and hospitality sectors.
3. Acknowledges that the Malinauskas government has conceded the algal bloom is caused by climate change.
4. Calls on the Malinauskas government to end fossil fuel subsidies and invest in funding for research and remediation.
In recent days in this place, we have discussed at some length the algal bloom. The algal bloom has been occurring in South Australian waters for some time now and has been devastating for our marine life. This form of algae (which I am not going to attempt to pronounce) is an algae that was first observed in the 1930s, I understand. It has caused mass fatalities of marine life in Japan, Norway, Ireland, New Zealand, China, the United States and of course now here in Australia.
The algal bloom in South Australia is estimated to be more than 4,000 square kilometres in size, which equates to 72 Sydney Harbours. It has impacted on Eyre Peninsula, Yorke Peninsula, Kangaroo Island, the Fleurieu and the South-East. Like many South Australians, I was horrified to see pictures in the media of dead octopi, fish, cockles, leafy seadragons, sharks, stingrays and cuttlefish. Businesses have been impacted, from tourism to aquaculture. Locals have already lost income from the devastation, and that will continue until the ecosystems recover.
What have we seen from the Malinauskas government? Unfortunately, the government appears to be sitting on its hands and has taken a 'nothing we can do' approach. Rather than just hopes and prayers, rain dancing and hoping for the weather to change, we need the government to take some immediate action. The Greens are simply not satisfied with the argument that this is beyond the government's control. We cannot be bystanders to widespread ecological destruction.
Scientific literature has linked human interference in marine environments to blooms of this harmful algae, the Mikimotoi algae.
The Hon. I.K. Hunter: Well done.
The Hon. R.A. SIMMS: Thank you, the Hon. Mr Hunter. The impacts of climate change in terms of changing water temperatures and shifting currents can result in blooms of this type.
Deputy Premier Susan Close has publicly stated that climate change is a cause of the algal bloom. Might I say, I have known the environment minister for many years. She is somebody who is very passionate about the need to take climate action and very passionate about the need to take all necessary steps to protect our environment. However, in this case we really need the government to put their money where their mouth is, put some more money in the coming state budget for remediation and research to deal with the consequences of the toxic algal bloom and also deal with the issues of subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. I will talk a little bit more about that in due course.
According to the EPA, the marine heatwave that has been experienced in South Australia is contributing to ocean temperatures approximately 2.5º hotter than usual. Indeed, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) there has already been a documented increase in the frequency and intensity of harmful algal blooms caused partly by warming, and there is evidence across the globe of impacts such as marine deaths, loss of local businesses and health impacts. The IPCC report with regard to climate change states:
Overall, the occurrence of harmful algal blooms, their toxicity and risk on natural and human systems are projected to increase with warming and rising CO2 in the 21st century. The increasing likely occurrences of harmful algal blooms under climate change also elevates their risks on ecosystem services, such as fisheries, aquaculture and tourism, as well as public health.
Another human interference that has been found to be a factor is the eutrophication of our oceans, where there is an excessive richness of nutrients. Often these are a result of run-off from the land or from coastal development and industry.
In the early 2000s, the EPA found that there had been some forms of eutrophication as a result of ammonia presence in sites tested in Gulf St Vincent. For a good ecosystem, it is considered that there should be less than 0.05 milligrams per litre of ammonia present. Yet, of the eight sites that were tested by the EPA, I understand seven had a higher concentration of ammonia. High levels of nutrients such as ammonia have been found to play a critical role in the growth of these algal blooms. The EPA has stated that ammonia was being discharged into the gulf in the early 2000s from wastewater treatment plants and agricultural fertilisers. We cannot ignore the impacts of eutrophication as a factor.
There is consensus in the scientific literature that more research is needed to both prevent and remediate algal blooms like the one we are seeing in South Australia. It is for that reason that the IPCC is calling for sustained monitoring programs and early warning systems to allow for mitigation before the algal bloom gets out of control. The early warning signs with regard to this recent algal bloom appeared back in March this year when people suffered sore eyes, coughing and blurry vision after being in the water near Victor Harbor.
It would have been preferable to know about the potential effects of these algal blooms before we saw these adverse health impacts presenting and in particular before we saw dead fish washing up on our beaches, dead sharks and the like, a horror story unfolding before our very eyes in South Australia, something that has been described in The Advertiser by scientists as a bushfire in the ocean in terms of its destruction. What is the Malinauskas government doing? Waiting for rain.
The state government has recognised that climate change is a factor. Indeed, Minister Close, as the environment minister, has recognised that climate change is a factor driving the algal bloom. However, she made a point that I disagree with in her media commentary when she said that there is nothing that South Australia could do differently here, that this is not something that we have caused. The reality is that the Malinauskas government subsidises fossil fuels to the tune of $37 million a year. Each year, we prop up the fossil fuel industry, which is driving climate change, driving these catastrophic climate events like the toxic algal bloom.
Rather than spending tens of millions of dollars on subsidies to the fossil fuel industry that is driving the climate crisis here in this state, the Greens are calling in tomorrow's state budget for this money to be redirected to research, analysis and mitigation of our waters and for establishing early warning systems, such as those recommended by the IPCC.
We also believe that some of that money could be used for a support package to assist impacted businesses. Aquatic instructor Lochie Cameron recently told the ABC that he expected a 'decades-long recovery' for some areas to allow impacted species to mature again. Affected businesses should not be forced to wait for decades before they can get back on track and we should not be waiting for decades for our marine life to be able to recover.
We need the Malinauskas government to step up. It is not enough to simply moan about climate change; they need to put their money where their mouth is and take action. Now is the time for them to axe subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. Now is the time for the Malinauskas government to stop rolling out the red carpet for Santos and bankrolling the fossil fuel industry and to really show some climate leadership because we have seen in recent weeks the horror story that is continuing to unfold in our oceans. It is being caused by the climate. The Malinauskas government knows this. Well, tomorrow they will have an opportunity to show some action.
Debate adjourned on motion of Hon. I.K. Hunter.