Algal bloom exposes 'limitations' in government monitoring programs, Senate inquiry finds
The 207-page report tabled on Tuesday makes 14 recommendations. (ABC News: Che Chorley)
In short:
The Senate inquiry, led by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, has tabled its 207-page report into the management of South Australia's toxic algal bloom.
The report makes a total of 14 recommendations.
What's next?
A state parliamentary inquiry into the crisis is continuing.
The onset of South Australia's devastating algal bloom has highlighted the "limitations of existing research and monitoring programs" along the state's coastline, according to a Senate inquiry which has called for more government funding into long-term oceanographic research.
The inquiry, chaired by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, had been investigating for months how the state and federal governments coordinated their response to the algal bloom that has been devastating marine ecosystems across the state since its emergence in March.
The committee tabled its 207-page report on Tuesday.
The report makes 14 recommendations, including for a new definition for declaring how "climate induced, slow onset and significant ecological events could be incorporated into a broader national framework".
The recommendation comes after the federal government faced criticism for not declaring the algal bloom a national disaster, before later declaring it a "significant ecological event".
The Senate report also recommended that the federal government outline clearer responsibilities for all three levels of government.
"The committee heard that the SA government was unprepared for the HAB (harmful algal bloom) due to a lack of long-term ecological and HAB monitoring along the SA coastline and waters which created barriers to determining the exact causes of the HAB and assessing its impacts," the report states.
Brown foam being washed up on Glenelg Beach. (ABC News: Marco Catalano)
"The committee is of the view that the HAB has highlighted the limitations of existing research and monitoring programs and emphasised the importance of investing in stable, ongoing HAB research and management capability at the national level.
"This long-term investment would enable the early detection of future HABs and equip the country to more quickly and effectively respond."
'Ill-prepared and asleep at the wheel'
The algal bloom was first reported in March on the southern tip of the Fleurieu Peninsula before spreading across the Gulf of St Vincent.
The bloom had grown to the size of more than 4,000 square kilometres by May, causing widespread marine mortalities on metropolitan and regional beaches.
Hopes the bloom would dissipate over winter were dashed, and in July the widening scale of the disaster prompted the state and federal governments to step in with a $28 million support package.
The inquiry into the algal bloom sat in Victor Harbor in September. (ABC South East SA: Caroline Horn)
Senator Hanson-Young said the Senate report's wording was agreed to unanimously by all members of the committee, including those from the Labor Party.
She said the report showed the state and federal governments were "ill-prepared and asleep at the wheel".
"What this inquiry has laid bare is just how ill-prepared the state and federal government were for a climate-induced disaster like we are having unfolding on our coastline here in SA,"she said.
"We need to make sure we respond better to these types of events in the future and that we deal with not just the immediate but the sustained and long-term support that our communities, our industry and our environment is going to need for months and years to come."
The Senate report also called on the federal government to consider "sustained funding" for long-term oceanographic and algal bloom specific research.
But it acknowledged that large scale reef restoration for South Australia "will cost more than $500 million".
No silver bullet, SA premier says
Before the report's release today, Premier Peter Malinauskas was asked whether he had any regrets about how the state government responded to the algal bloom.
"No-one really predicted the algal bloom," he replied.
"We're dealing with an unprecedented ecological event that humans can't control beyond addressing climate change.
"Anyone that says that they can is just making things up — if there was a silver bullet solution here, it would have been deployed a long-time ago."
Peter Malinauskas says there is no quick fix for the algal bloom. (ABC News)
Mr Malinauskas said he appreciated there were others who "enjoy making a contribution from the armchair" but the government was focused on "making sure the policy is informed by the science and the evidence".
Asked whether he would have done anything differently, he said: "You always seek to learn from these events, but again, I ask people if anybody's got any ideas about what could have been done to stop the algal bloom, I'm all ears."
"A lot of people sort of talk about this as though you could have stopped the algal bloom if you acted earlier,"he said.
"Which, of course, is a complete nonsense and not backed up by any science or evidence or just basic understanding of the ecological event that has occurred.
"I appreciate there will be some that want to politicise the algal bloom, that's their prerogative, I've just got to focus on using the science and the research to inform a thoughtful policy response."
Environment Minister Murray Watt said the government will "work through the findings carefully".
"The Albanese government and South Australian governments have jointly invested well over $136 million to support science and research into the bloom, affected businesses and environmental recovery," he said.
"The health and resilience of Australia’s ocean is a high priority for the Albanese government."
The state and federal governments in October released the full details of its $102.5 million "summer plan" for the algal bloom, which included more than $37 million in new funding for science and the environment.
A sign with information about SA's algal bloom near the Cape Jaffa jetty. (ABC South East SA: Josh Brine)
The plan also included a second round of coastal tourism vouchers and a new dining cashback scheme.
The algal bloom has recently shown signs of dissipating on Adelaide's metropolitan coastlines, with authorities reporting a rapid decline in cell counts for the harmful Karenia species.
While the Senate inquiry has concluded, a separate algal bloom inquiry in the South Australian Parliament continues.