- The Guardian
- Issue #2167
Algal bloom off the coast of Edithburgh, SA. Photo: Stefan Andrews – Great Southern Reef Foundation.
State and federal governments are going halves on a $102.5 million ‘summer algal bloom plan,’ for the crisis that has plagued South Australian beaches.
The plan includes $37 million for science and the environment.
The government will include spending on encouragement to tourists in the form of $20 million worth of dining and accommodation vouchers in an attempt to shore up SA’s ravaged coastal tourism industry.
Technological solutions include a Beachsafe app so that South Australians can see updates on 23 locations where the bloom has been a problem, and check when a beach was last cleaned. Another technological measure is “AI-powered submersible cytobots” to look at phytoplankton and develop early warning systems. That’s $1 million.
The government will spend $3.2 million on setting up an Office for Algal Bloom Research.
Costs are being shared equally by the South Australian and federal governments.
$102.5 million sounds like a lot, but is dwarfed by the estimated $65 billion the Australian government spends subsidising fossil fuels. Climate change is definitely a factor in the algal bloom crisis, according to SA Environment Minister Susan Close and other experts.
So another way to look at the crisis is that the Albanese government is spending $51.25 million helping South Australians get though the crisis and $65 billion making it worse.
South Australians in the fishing and tourism industries can only hope for cool water and that the fish populations recover. Other states should take notice. This will happen again, not only in South Australia.
