Latest news with #Hanson-Young
Perth Now
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Greens demand PM act on toxic bloom
Anthony Albanese is being pressed to declare a toxic algae bloom, which has crippled South Australia's coastline and plunged seafood industries into peril, a 'national disaster'. The naturally-occurring but harmful algal bloom has plagued the state's beaches for months, killing marine life and plunging the seafood industry into crisis. Reports have emerged of dead fish, rays and sharks washing up along the metropolitan coastline – including North Haven between the river mouth and marina breakwater, Tennyson Beach, north of Grange jetty, and south of Christies Beach Surf Life Saving Club. Several mussel farming sites around the Port Lincoln area have also been shut after shellfish toxins were detected in the area. Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young has called on the Prime Minister to respond to the growing algae bloom 'disaster' in South Australia. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia Greens senator Sarah Hanson Young has says the bloom is a 'national disaster' and therefore required a 'national response'. She called on the Prime Minister and federal Environment Minister Murray Watt to visit Adelaide and 'take some action'. 'If this was happening in Bondi, or on the North Shore in Sydney, the Prime Minister would have already been on the beach, talking to concerned locals and the affected industries,' Senator Hanson-Young said on Wednesday. Reports have emerged of dead marine life washing up along areas of SA's metropolitan coastline. Stefan Andrews / Great Southern Reef Foundation Credit: Supplied More than 200 marine species have been recorded as dead due to a toxic algae bloom in South Australia. Supplied Credit: News Corp Australia 'But today, we've had virtually nothing from the federal government.' South Australia's flagship fisheries patrol vessel Southern Ranger has been deployed to inspect the bloom and help authorities understand its impact. Senator Hanson-Young, the Greens' environment and water spokeswoman, said this should have been happening 'weeks and weeks ago' – pointing out SA's fishing and tourism industries were being 'smashed'. 'Our environment is dying, and our community is alarmed,' she said. The algae bloom was first detected in March. Supplied / Great Southern Reef Credit: Supplied 'This is the climate crisis unfolding before our very eyes, and South Australia can't handle it on our own.' Senator Hanson-Young said she would be moving for a federal inquiry into the crisis when parliament resumes. In their latest update on Wednesday, the SA Department of Environment and Water said the algae – known as Karenia mikimotoi – had been detected in the Port River. Elevated levels were found by authorities along the metropolitan coastline, while 'very high' levels were at the Garden Island and Outer Harbor boat ramps. It was first detected on the Fleurieu Peninsula in March. The bloom quickly spread to other waterways after it was detected in the Fleurieu Peninsula four months ago. Stefan Andrews / Great Southern Reef Foundation Credit: Supplied 'State government agencies are taking weekly water samples at 17 sites across West Lakes, the Port River, the Patawalonga River and the end of four jetties at Largs Bay, Grange, Glenelg and Port Noarlunga,' the department said in their update. The South Australian opposition has already called for a royal commission to explore the origin and consequences of the algae and what could have been done to manage the situation, the ABC reports. Authorities believe a marine heatwave in September last year could have contributed to the bloom. Flooding in the Murray River over 2022 and 2023 washing extra nutrients into the sea, or an unprecedented cold-water upwelling over the summer of 2023-24, may also have contributed. The last large event of this type of algae recorded in SA was at Coffin Bay in 2014. Karenia mikimotoi is not known to cause long-term harmful effects in humans but exposure to discoloured or foamy water can cause short-term skin or eye irritation and respiratory symptoms.
Sky News AU
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
‘We've already coughed up the money': Fury as US considers asking Aust to pay more under AUKUS
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young claims the AUKUS agreement has been a 'dud deal' for Australia 'since day dot' and new information exposes this. This comes as there are fears the United States may ask Australia to pay more under the AUKUS pact. Sources have told Nine Newspapers the US will ask for changes to the pact before the first submarines arrive. 'The US is already starting to put up the flagpole that Australians, Australian taxpayers are going to have to pay more for it,' Ms Hanson-Young told Sky News Australia. 'We've already coughed up the money. 'It's Australian taxpayers that are front footing most of the cost upfront. We're the ones putting the money on the table.'
Perth Now
07-07-2025
- Climate
- Perth Now
‘Disaster': Senator's desperate plea to PM
The Greens are demanding a national response to the rolling waves of toxic algae bloom washing up along South Australia's coastline, calling on Anthony Albanese to declare the event a national disaster. On Monday, Greens senator Sarah Hanson Young, from South Australia, said she had written to the Prime Minister for more support to address the unfolding environmental catastrophe, which has killed and polluted marine wildlife and produced discoloured water and foam along vast stretches of the state. 'For months, the coastline in South Australia has been under attack by a toxic algal bloom,' she said. 'So far, most of the response has been led by the local community without any formal government support. 'I have written to the Prime Minister because South Australians cannot be left to deal with this environmental disaster on our own. 'If there were dead fish washing up on Bondi Beach every day, there would be a national outcry and response. 'South Australians deserve the same support from our federal government that east coast states would demand.' The toxic algae bloom is killing marine wildlife along South Australia's coastline. Supplied Credit: Supplied Scientists believe the bloom has been caused by a marine heatwave. Supplied Credit: Supplied The toxic bloom was likely caused by three interconnected factors, the South Australian Department for Environment and Water said. 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. It does not produce long-term harm to humans, though it can cause short-term skin or eye irritation, but it is having a devastating economic impact on the state's $500m fisheries industry. Senator Hanson-Young wants state and federal inquiries into the phenomenon and a federal support package to alleviate losses. South Australian Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young is calling for a national support package to help affected industries. NewsWire / Martin Ollman Credit: News Corp Australia 'Our tourism industry is already reporting mass cancellations because of people deciding not to travel and stay on the South Australian coast,' she said. 'Our industries are being crippled by this climate crisis. They need support from the government and they need it now.' Senator Hanson-Young also took aim at the 'fossil fuel industry' and argued it was responsible for the bloom. 'The climate crisis is here and it is here before our very eyes and it is creating an environmental catastrophe,' she said. 'What we need is to stop making the problem worse and to start investing in mitigation and adaptation strategies. 'Sitting on our hands and hoping it will all just wash away is not realistic. 'That's why we need a federal and state push for an inquiry … and we need to make sure there is support for industry who are going to have to struggle while this bloom sticks around.' The Coalition has flagged its support for a parliamentary inquiry into the event. Environment Minister Murray Watt has been contacted for comment.
Canberra Times
09-06-2025
- Politics
- Canberra Times
Call for action as Aussie journo hit with rubber bullet
"Trump is a threat to journalistic freedom and to democratic values and we cannot afford, as Australians, to sit by and see an attack on those values by US authorities shooting at one of our journalists," senator Hanson-Young said.
Sky News AU
05-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News AU
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young says Dorinda Cox should resign after Labor defection
Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young has suggested that former colleague Dorinda Cox should resign, following her shock defection the Labor Party. Ms Cox said she chose to quit the minor party to join the Albanese government after some 'deep reflection' about her personal values. However, Ms Hanson-Young has criticised the move, and Labor's embrace of it, saying the defection disrespects the voters who elected her as a Greens representative. 'I always think that it's not fair to the voters and indeed any of the parties involved that if somebody is elected to one party and then jumps ship later on,' she told reporters. 'I do think the honourable thing is to resign from the parliament, but that's not the rules, and so we're left where we are.' The comments follow a spate of criticism surrounding Ms Cox's abrupt resignation. Ms Cox only announced she would leave the party after she lost a deputy leadership ballot 9–3 to Senator Mehreen Faruqi. She then claimed 'deep reflection' had led her to realise her values were more closely aligned with Labor's. But her sudden transformation has met skepticism and accusations of political opportunism, particularly given her scathing past criticisms of the Labor Party. In 2020, Ms Cox said she left Labor because it was 'patronising to women and people of colour' and accused the party of caring more about donors than members. More recently, she accused Labor of having 'spectacularly failed' the public through its support for the North West Shelf gas project. Also resurfacing was her support for the controversial slogan 'from the river to the sea' - a phrase Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has publicly condemned. Adding to the controversy was another leaked 2023 text message in which Ms Cox referred to One Nation leader Pauline Hanson as a 'f---ing retard'. Labor's apparent willingness to accept Ms Cox, despite these incidents, has drawn comparisons to Mr Albanese's prior treatment of former Labor senator Fatima Payman. Ms Payman was hounded by Mr Albanese after she quit the Labor Party last year to form her own party, Australia's Voice. 'There is a bit of hypocrisy, of course, about how Labor has responded to this,' Ms Hanson-Young said. 'It wasn't okay to jump ship for Fatima Payman, but apparently when it's people coming to them, it's all okay.' Ms Payman herself chimed in on Tuesday, saying she was surprised Ms Cox had not suffered 'the smear campaign' that she endured after her exit from Labor. Meanwhile, internal alleged complaints of staff bullying continue to hang over Ms Cox's legacy in the Greens. More than 20 staff reportedly quit her office, prompting an internal investigation—but the probe was abandoned following her defection. 'There has been a process, and an internal process is hard to run if somebody's gone to another party,' Ms Hanson-Young said. Former Labor minister Stephen Conroy added to criticism, calling for Ms Cox to 'resign from the Senate' and seek Labor preselection through the proper channels. 'She shouldn't steal something from the Greens; she should resign and ensure that it's passed back to the Greens,' Mr Conroy told Sky News.
