00:00This is a vital inquiry that is going to be looking at how on earth this deadly toxic
00:09algae bloom started in the first place and what really needs to be done in the short,
00:15medium and long term to manage it, but also to mitigate against it happening again or
00:21to be devastating the community in the way that it has.
00:26South Australia has copped the brunt of this, we've got a huge impact on our fishing and
00:32tourism industries, but it's our local communities too that are suffering.
00:38Locals down here at Seacliff have been telling me just how distressing it has been finding
00:45dead marine life day after day, washing up on these beaches, not knowing exactly how
00:52clean the water is, not knowing what to do when they are confronted with these dead animals.
00:58Right where I'm standing, just 50 metres away, we have had dead dolphins washing up, we've
01:05had dead stingrays and even penguins.
01:09It has just been absolutely distressing for the local community here and it's obviously
01:14a devastation for the environment.
01:18This is a climate disaster and one of the things that this inquiry needs to look at is
01:23how the federal government is going to respond to these types of catastrophes into the future.
01:30This still hasn't been declared by the Prime Minister a national disaster because the government
01:35says it doesn't fit the criteria.
01:37Will we need a new set of criteria for climate disasters like this because it's happened
01:45here, it's happened in Adelaide, but it could just as well happen on Bondi Beach.
01:50And Senator, will the inquiry have the power to make recommendations or even a finding that
01:57this should have been declared a national disaster?
01:59We'll be taking lots of evidence, listening to witnesses, questioning government departments,
02:09scientists and experts as well as the affected industries and members of the community.
02:16But our inquiry will be able to give recommendations and we will be making sure those recommendations
02:24are strong and robust. South Australians deserve a voice in Canberra on this devastation, on
02:31this disaster, but what people want more than anything is government action. It shouldn't have
02:37taken months for the South Australian community to get the support we need and even then many
02:44are saying it falls way too short. There's been $14 million put on the table but we're
02:50going to need a whole lot more than that.
02:52The government has visited. The Prime Minister was there along with the Environment Minister,
02:57Murray Watt. There's been an in tandem response with the state government. How do you think they
03:03could have responded better? I mean, it's such an unprecedented event that we really haven't
03:06seen before in this country. There was no real playbook was there to deal with an event like this.
03:14No, exactly. And scientists had been warning for months and in fact, a number of years,
03:20that an environmental catastrophe like this was just lurking offshore, that this could happen
03:27and they weren't really listened to. They weren't really taken seriously enough. So that's the first
03:32thing. We need to really be listening to the science and preparing our government responses for when the
03:39the worst happens. And that just didn't happen here. And then for months, it took a long time for it
03:45even to be noticed on the federal stage. The Prime Minister should have been here a lot earlier.
03:53You know, it's good he came. But people were pretty frustrated that it took such a long time. Of
03:59course, you know, if this had been on the northern beaches of Sydney or on Bondi, would it have taken so
04:08long for the government to respond? Look, frankly, I think it probably wouldn't have. I think the Prime
04:13Minister would have been down there quick smart. However, it is unprecedented. And that's why this
04:19inquiry is so essential. Because we really now need to start listening to the science, to the
04:26community and to the concerns that things like this, a disaster like this, a climate disaster,
04:33could very well happen again, most likely will happen again. And we need to be much better prepared.
04:39We need to be building the resilience of our environment. So our environment is better at dealing
04:44with it. But we have to also stop making the problem worse. The big feeding issue of this crisis,
04:51it was the warming waters, our waters and the marine heat waves are getting more and more because of the
05:00climate crisis. We've got to do better. We have to stop making the problem worse by, you know, stop
05:06making more carbon and greenhouse gas pollution. But we also have to be investing in the environment,
05:13restoring nature, looking after nature, so nature is better prepared for when the worst hits.
05:21Just if I can get you, Senator, on a couple of other issues. It looks like the government is primed to
05:26release perhaps some details about its federal nature protection laws, the rewrite of those laws.
05:33Have you had any briefings from the government on what this might look like? And what are the Greens
05:37looking for when we redo these laws? Well, I've had the Environment Minister reach out and ask for a
05:45meeting over the next week or so. So I will make sure that happens. And I look forward to hearing from
05:51him exactly what his plans are. But let me say this, if the government wants to be taken seriously and wants
06:01to have credibility on this issue, they really need to start putting in place the tools and plans for
06:09protecting nature, for protecting the environment. You know, there's all very well and good to outline
06:15go zones. But what we really need to know is how the government plans to protect the areas that need
06:22protection. There should be a no-go zone in native forests. There should be a no-go zone in critical
06:28habitat like koala habitat. And these are meant to be environmental protection laws, not approval
06:37regulations or approval laws. Let's put environment protection first and foremost. You know, this is
06:45actually a plan that is being rolled out by the Environment Minister. That means he's got to be
06:51putting nature first. Well, we'll await to have a look at those details. In other breaking news,
06:56the Murdoch family has reached a deal just overnight, breaking news, that now means that Rupert Murdoch and
07:03his son Lachlan Murdoch will cement control of the Fox News empire and the Murdoch empire. What are your
07:09thoughts on any implications for Australian media in this deal? Well, we know for far too long that
07:17the Murdoch press has controlled too much of Australia's media. We're one of the most concentrated
07:23media landscapes in the world. And of course, the Murdoch press have wreaked havoc on the public
07:31interest journalism that's needed to take on the big interests when it comes to climate change, when
07:37it comes to other types of big environmental issues. We know that the Murdoch press have for too long
07:48really dictated the freedom of press here in Australia, the ability for governments to act. How
07:57many prime ministers have said once they leave office, how scared they were and how pressured
08:04they felt by the Murdoch press and the wrath of the Murdoch press. We need to make sure that going
08:10forward, Australia has more media diversity, a strong public broadcaster. That's essential,
08:18well funded, without the fear or favour of threat of government. But whatever happens next with the
08:24Murdoch empire, what Australia needs is more media diversity, not more Murdoch press.
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