Over 50,000 marine animal deaths recorded as a result of South Australia’s toxic algal bloom

ABC NEWS (Australia)

More than 55,000 marine animal deaths have been recorded this year due to the state's toxic algal bloom. The figure was revealed in a parliamentary committee, which heard preparations are being made in case the algae hangs around for years to come. The committee's also been told the state government didn't formally ask the federal government to declare the toxic algal bloom a national disaster.

Transcript

00:00More than six months into the algal bloom, South Australians are becoming used to murky waters.

00:07It's now unclear how hard the state government pushed the Commonwealth on the contentious point of how the bloom should be classified.

00:14Has the state government formally requested that the algal bloom be declared a national disaster?

00:19No, it hasn't.

00:21The government struck a different tune back in July.

00:23We will continue to advocate for this to be declared as a national disaster.

00:27The Commonwealth's position from the outset was that those arrangements would not apply for this event.

00:34The state's lead algal bloom coordinator says the non-declaration didn't affect the government's management of the bloom,

00:40but it did mean the crisis was not dealt with like a bushfire or cyclone.

00:44And the well understood doctrinal approaches to coordination and management were not in place.

00:51State government spokesperson says it's consistently called the event a natural disaster

00:56and pointed to the 14 million it got from the Commonwealth despite no formal disaster declaration.

01:01It is absolutely the government's imperative to formally request, not just to have a chat on the side.

01:11More than 57,000 marine mortalities have been recorded during the bloom,

01:15officials warning that's only a small portion of the damage.

01:18The government's summer plan is modelling three scenarios,

01:21including a worst case where the algal bloom hangs around for decades to come.

01:25The advice that we've had is that could be seasonal for a period of time,

01:30it could dissipate over two or more years, or it could be even more protracted.

01:36Hoping for the best, preparing for the worst.

01:38The worst.

01:39The worst.

01:40The worst.

Category

Transcript

Be the first to comment

Recommended