The Hon. Nicola Centofanti, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries and Regional South Australia, Media Release, 4 November 2025

The Joint Committee on Harmful Algal Blooms in South Australia has continued to expose the State Government’s mishandling of this environmental crisis – with yet more evidence emerging of serious failures in planning and response.

Shadow Minister for Primary Industries and Regional South Australia, Nicola Centofanti, said what was truly alarming were revelations that the baseline water-quality monitoring program across South Australia’s coastline and within the gulfs were ad hoc – with no monitoring in 2023 due to a lack of departmental resourcing.

“How can the Government pinpoint the cause of the algal bloom when it’s clear that its baseline water quality monitoring program was not adhered to?” Dr Centofanti said.

“A delay of this kind has consequences, and it shows just how badly this Government has dropped the ball.

“We have a harmful algal bloom that has devastated Gulf St Vincent and is now moving into the Spencer Gulf, yet the Government hasn’t even started trialling mitigation methods.

“It is also concerning that the department is publicly talking about bureaucratic hurdles instead of solutions – South Australians expect a Government that acts, not one that hesitates and wraps itself in red tape while our marine environment suffers.”

Dr Centofanti added that it’s also clear that the Government ignored its own expert advice when making decisions around algal bloom mitigation.

“The official ‘Harmful Algal Bloom Science Forum’ minutes warned that bubble curtains carry a significant risk, particularly for fragile species like Karenia, because the cells can break and release even more potent toxins,” Dr Centofanti said.

“Despite that explicit warning, the Government has pushed ahead with bubble curtain trials for the cuttlefish without providing any public assurance that those risks were assessed, managed, or even properly understood.

“It’s fortunate that we haven’t had to use the bubble curtain yet, but in the event that we do need to turn it on the Government needs to answer how it plans to mitigate the associated risks.

“South Australians deserve transparency, and they deserve to know whether the risks raised by scientific experts were considered.

“The Government can’t say it’s ‘following the science’ while simultaneously ignoring the advice its given when it doesn’t suit Labor’s agenda.”