Algal Bloom

The Hon. H.J. GUMBYS (17:42): I rise to oppose the motion put forward by the Hon. Nicola Centofanti. This government has never shied away from acknowledging the severe and ongoing impacts of the harmful algal bloom. The damage to our seafood industry, our coastal tourism and our recreational fishing communities has been real. It has been significant and has demanded a serious and committed response. That is precisely what the Malinauskas government has delivered.

Together with the federal government, we have committed to more than $160 million to the algal bloom response, including the $102.5 million Algal Bloom Summer Plan. That plan is part of the reason South Australians were back on the beaches this past summer and autumn, spending money at coastal businesses using the hundreds of thousands of vouchers made available through the Coast is Calling campaign. We have delivered nearly 30 community forums the length of the coastline. Eligible fisheries and aquaculture licence holders have received up to $350,000 in grants funding across three rounds. Small businesses with a revenue drop of 30 per cent or more could access grants of up to $50,000.

We have invested in freshwater fish stocking, artificial recreational fishing reefs in partnerships with RecFish SA, and large-scale native shellfish reef restoration to support long-term stock recovery. These are just some of the responses that the Malinauskas Labor government provided within the largest targeted industry support package in our state's history.

I should say I have a personal interest in this. I am a keen fisherman myself and I have been out in the water at Yorke Peninsula many times fishing with my family off the coast of Port Moorowie. When I talk about support for the recreational anglers, about fish stock recovery and what it means for communities like ours, I am not speaking in the abstract. I know what it means to have that access, and I know what it means when it is under threat. That is why I am proud to be part of a government that took this seriously.

The scientific response has been equally serious. Within months of the bloom emerging, we brought together more than 80 marine and environmental experts at the Harmful Algal Bloom Science Forum because this government wanted the best available science informing every decision we made. That commitment has not let up. We are now establishing the office for algal bloom research in South Australia, ensuring the expertise and the programs built up through this event continue long after the bloom itself has passed.

I want to be clear that I do not question the sincerity of those South Australians who have been impacted and who want answers, as they deserve them. But this motion is not really about getting answers because those answers were already on the record. There have already been two extensive parliamentary inquiries into this bloom. A federal Senate inquiry reported in November 2025 and the South Australian parliamentary joint committee, of which the Hon. Ms Centofanti was herself a member, reported in February this year.

That committee examined the cause of the bloom, the ecological and economic impacts, government coordination and industry support arrangements, long-term monitoring and research funding. In other words, it examined precisely the matters now cited as justification for a royal commission that will cost the state $3 million.

The Malinauskas Labor government has not waited for inquiries or commissions to act. It has been working directly with impacted industries and communities from day one and those communities have noticed. Bodies like Seafood Industry South Australia, RecFish SA, the MFA and SAPFA have acknowledged that the government listened and responded to their needs. This is the measure that matters.

What concerns me about this motion is the pattern it represents. Throughout this event, the opposition chose to use every public opportunity to talk down confidence in South Australian seafood—not to support affected industries but to generate political pressure. The effect of that, as industry bodies themselves could attest, was felt by producers well beyond the bloom-affected areas. That is the real cost of politicising an environmental disaster.

The Hon. Ms Centofanti herself noted, upon moving this motion, that primary industries rely on certainty and confidence and that when communication is unclear and stakeholders are not engaged, that confidence is eroded. I agree entirely, which is why I find it difficult to reconcile those words with the approach taken by her party over the last year.

This government will keep working with the communities and industries that have been impacted. We will keep investing in the science. We will keep supporting South Australian seafood, coastal tourism and recreational fishing. That is the job and that is what we are getting on with.