14 October 2025
The Greens have welcomed the State Government’s announcement of an Algal Bloom Summer Plan but says that State Government needs to do more to address the causes of the crisis.
“The Greens called for greater support for research and remediation months ago ahead of the state budget, and it’s good to see that the State Government has finally moved to allocate more resources to these critical areas,” said Greens MLC Robert Simms, who is also Chair of Parliament’s Joint Inquiry into the Harmful Algal Bloom.
“However, we also need to have a serious conversation about the role of the fossil fuel industry in creating the conditions for this crisis and whether they should pick up the bill for cleaning it up. It shouldn’t be up to everyday South Australians to pay for the damage caused by polluting corporations.”
“It’s pretty galling that the State Government continues to provide millions of dollars of subsidies to the fossil fuel industry despite the fact that we know climate change is a key factor driving this algal bloom crisis. The Greens are calling for Labor to axe these subsidies and place a moratorium on oil and gas exploration in our state so that we can get serious about the causes of the algal bloom.”
“I look forward to scrutinising the details of this plan closely over the coming weeks,” he concluded.