Federal funding to assist SA to deal with algal bloom but no national disaster declaration
In a press conference in Adelaide, Federal Environment Minister Murray Watt described the bloom as "a serious environmental event".
SA Premier Peter Malinauskas welcomed the funding pledge and said the state government would be meeting on Tuesday to make deliberations about additional funding support.
The bloom has been ravaging marine life throughout the state since March, disrupting fishing, aquaculture and tourism industries and threatening fragile coastal ecosystems.
It has also seen dead marine life, including dead sharks and stingrays, wash up on metropolitan beaches.
Mr Watt briefed the federal cabinet this morning on the algal bloom before flying to Adelaide to inspect its impact on metropolitan beaches.
"The federal cabinet was unified in recognising that this is a very serious event facing South Australia and that we need to step up federal government support for South Australia as they lead the response effort here," he said.
Mr Watt said the $14 million funding package came in response to a request lodged by the South Australian government on Sunday.
"There will need to be some further discussions between ourselves and the South Australian government about exactly the details of how that funding is used," he said.
"But it's intended to deal with a number of short-term requirements and some of the longer-term needs that South Australia is going to face as it recovers from this event."
Mr Watt said he expected the funding to go towards activities like cleaning up beaches, assisting affected businesses, boosting "community awareness" and investing in scientific research.
"The reality is we are in uncharted waters here," he said.
"This is an unprecedented event and one of the difficulties has been understanding exactly what its impacts are and what sort of response is required."
The funding package comes amid mounting criticism of the federal government's response to the crisis, with the Greens suggesting a federal response would have come quicker if the bloom occurred in Sydney.
Earlier today, SA Premier Peter Malinauskas said he had "rather assertively" urged the federal government to treat the algal bloom as a natural disaster and provide financial assistance.
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ABC News
23 minutes ago
- ABC News
Geraldine Doogue takes on the future of journalism in 2025 Andrew Olle lecture
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West Australian
2 hours ago
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Sky News AU
2 hours ago
- Sky News AU
Potential worsening of Australia-Israel relations as Albanese releases statement
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