‘Make them pay': Algal bloom storm grows
The Rising Tide protesters chanted 'make them pay' and sang songs before carrying a box of letters from South Australians impacted by the bloom to the front door of the corporate giant's office.
The letters were intended for Santos CEO Kevin Gallagher, but the protesters were blocked from the front door and then moved to a side street door, but were blocked again by a security guard.
'Tacit consent has been removed, you are not allowed to come inside the building,' the guard informed the two-dozen protesters as they moved to the side street door.
A protester asked if Mr Gallagher was 'refusing' to come down and meet with the protesters.
The guard replied he could not speak for Mr Gallagher, but the protesters were not permitted to enter the building.
'You were hi-vis all the time but you're invisible today, Kevin,' a protester shouted out.
Rising Tide credit fossil fuel companies for climate change, which they believe in turn has caused rolling waves of toxic algae bloom to wash up along South Australia's coastline. Rising Tide protesters blame Santos for South Australia's algal bloom event. RoyVPhotography Credit: News Corp Australia The two-dozen protesters chanted 'make Santos pay' on the street outside the company's head office. RoyVPhotography Credit: News Corp Australia
The bloom can cause short-term skin or eye irritation, and is having a sharp economic impact on the state's $500m fisheries industry.
Rising Tide member Indi Wishart, speaking outside the office on Wednesday, told NewsWire Santos and other fossil fuel companies should pay out to help clean up the bloom.
'Last year Santos paid over $700m to their shareholders alone, I think it's easy for them to contribute a portion of that towards dealing with climate disasters,' the Adelaide local said.
'This won't be the only algal bloom, there will be more climate disasters, so we're going to need as much money as we can from these big polluters to start dealing with the crises they are causing.'
Wishart said government intervention should 'force' fossil fuel companies to pay and all major industrial and energy companies should face levies.
The bloom has likely been caused by three interconnected factors, the South Australian Department for Environment and Water has said. Santos is a major South Australian company with a market capitalisation of some $25bn. RoyVPhotography Credit: News Corp Australia
First, a marine heatwave, starting in September 2024, has warmed sea temperatures about 2.5C more than normal.
Second, the 2022-23 River Murray floods washed extra nutrients into the sea, and third, a cold water upwelling in the summer of 2023-24 pulled nutrient-rich water to the surface.
The bloom could last for months, the department warned.
Santos is South Australia's star corporate entity with a market capitalisation of some $25bn.
It boasts large-scale operations and projects in South Australia, WA, Papua New Guinea and Alaska.
It is currently the subject of a $30bn takeover bid from the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company.
Santos has been contacted for comment on the protest.
South Australian Greens member Robert Simms, meanwhile, said on Wednesday afternoon he would propose a new 'fossil fuel levy' to the parliament.
'We need a fossil fuel levy in South Australia to make polluters like Santos pay for the damage their products cause,' he said.
'It shouldn't be up to everyday taxpayers to foot the bill.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Perth Now
8 hours ago
- Perth Now
Two tickets share $30m Oz Lotto jackpot
Life's about to change for at least two lucky Aussies who hold the winning tickets in Tuesday's Oz Lotto's draw, sharing the division one $30m jackpot. The winning tickets are worth $15m each. It is not yet known where the winning tickets were purchased. The winning numbers in Tuesday's draw are: 11, 32, 40, 42, 38, 29, 34 and the supplementaries are 15, 3 and 47. Two winning tickets will share in Oz Lotto's $30m jackpot. Supplied Credit: News Corp Australia Six tickets across Australia will also share in the division two prize pool worth $448,521. Last month, a Tasmanian man become that state's biggest Lotto winner when he claimed the $70m jackpot. There have been 310 division one winning Lotto tickets across Australia this year taking home almost $1bn in prize money.
Perth Now
14 hours ago
- Perth Now
Where Aussies are spending their money
Australian households are finding breathing room in their budgets, with the latest data showing an increase in household spending. Data released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on Tuesday shows spending on furnishings and household equipment, clothing, footwear and food have driven a 0.5 per cent household spending rise for June. The data shows people are making more discretionary purchases and spending more often. The 0.5 per cent bump follows a 1 per cent rise in May and is 4.8 per cent higher than June last year. Alcohol and tobacco spending continues to fall, government data shows. NewsWire / Monique Harmer Credit: News Corp Australia 'Goods spending rose 1.3 per cent, as households spent more on food, new vehicles, and electronics,' ABS executive Robert Ewing said. 'Meanwhile, spending on services fell by 0.5 per cent after two months of growth. 'People buying more goods drove the overall rise in household spending in June.' Looking at the three months to June, discretionary spending volumes (the actual dollar value spent) rose because of a 1.8 per cent increase in recreation and cultural activities, plus a 1.6 per cent rise in cafes and restaurants. The volume increase shows people are going out for dinner less often but spending more. Spending on food, vehicles and recreation rose across the country in June. NewsWire / Nikki Short Credit: News Corp Australia This discretionary bump is part of an overall spending volume increase of 0.7 per cent for the June quarter. 'Household spending volumes rose for the third consecutive quarter, reflecting a steady improvement in consumer confidence as price pressures eased over the past year,' Mr Ewing said. Western Australia was the only state or territory where spending fell. The Northern Territory, NSW and then Tasmania had the largest spending increases over the past year. In the NT, the spending increases were driven by health, transport and recreation outlays. In NSW, clothes, shoes, furnishings and food were the largest drivers. While people are consistently spending more on food and homewares across the country, alcohol and tobacco spend is falling, the government data shows.
Perth Now
15 hours ago
- Perth Now
WFH push is a ‘stunt', claims opposition
Premier Jacinta Allan is 'gaslighting' Victorian residents following her pledge to legislate the right to work from home, the opposition has claimed. On Saturday, the premier announced it would introduce legislation next year to allow residents to work from home – in the private and public sector – for at least two days a week. 'Work from home works for families and it's good for the economy,' she said. 'Not everyone can work from home, but everyone can benefit. 'If you can do your job from home, we'll make it your right – because we're on your side.' Jacinta Allan is pushing to make working from home a legal right for the private and public sector. NewsWire / Nadir Kinani Credit: News Corp Australia However, the plan was criticised by opposition industrial relations minister Tim Wilson on Sky News, who argued the move was 'stunt over substance' and accused the premier of 'gaslighting' the Victorian people. 'I support fundamentally working from home arrangements as part of what works for people,' he said. 'But what the state government is doing is going stunt over substance.' He argued the legislation would not apply for all Victorians, especially those who work in retail, hospitality and on the front line. 'What is obvious to everybody is that teachers, nurses, tradies, retail workers, they're not going to get the benefit from it,' he said. 'So what we have is the Premier gaslighting Victorian employees, but in the process, putting serious risk at jobs in Victoria.' Opposition industrial relations minister Tim Wilson caused the premier of 'gaslighting' the Victorian public. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia On Monday, the Victorian Chamber of Commerce raised concerns over the proposed law and how it could affect productivity levels. The body's chief executive Paul Guerra said the move was 'perplexing' given the Federal Government's focus on boosting productivity levels in the Economic Reform Roundtable, and argued if the state moved away from the national system, there's a risk 'businesses will move interstate and jobs will be lost'. He said the government was doing a 'stunt over substance'. NewsWire/ David Crosling Credit: News Corp Australia The Chamber has also raised concerns that the proposal may be unconstitutional if enterprise bargaining agreements are already in place, as they operate under the federal jurisdiction. However, Ms Allan said the state government would undertake consultation with the Department of Premier and Cabinet, where they will 'focus on ensuring the law reflects the real-world experience of working from home'. 'This consultation process won't determine whether working from home should be a right,' Ms Allan said. 'We're already clear on that: it should be. We just need the appropriate laws to reflect it.' Speaking to Sky News, Mr Wilson said the proposed law was not possible for private sector workers. '(The Victorian Government) made an announcement that they were going to essentially try and guarantee an outcome,' he told Sky News. 'Since then, lawyers have said, actually, you can't do that for private sector workers. That's covered by federal law.' Ms Allan has been contacted for comment.
