Television Interview- ABC Weekend News Breakfast with Tom Oriti
TELEVISION INTERVIEW
ABC WEEKEND BREAKFAST
SATURDAY, 6 September 2025
SUBJECTS: Senate inquiry into Algal Blooms in South Australia
THOMAS ORITI, HOST:
We've been talking about South Australia's toxic algal bloom a lot this morning because in the past 24 hours, people in the Upper Spencer Gulf have learned they won't be able to enter the water inside what's called this new bubble curtain zone designed to protect giant cuttlefish. Let's get more on the situation and bring in South Australian Labor Senator Karen Grogan. Senator Grogan is the Deputy Chair of a Senate algal bloom inquiry that was set up earlier this year. Senator, good morning. Thanks for being with us.
KAREN GROGAN, LABOR SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
Good morning. Thank you for having me on and bringing some attention to this issue.
THOMAS ORITI, HOST:
Yeah, and just with news that we've been discussing this morning about this new bubble where people can't enter the water, I guess that casts a revealing light even further, doesn't it, of how serious this is?
KAREN GROGAN, LABOR SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
It is very serious. The issue particularly with the bubble curtain, the exclusion zone is about 50 metres and obviously it's to protect the cuttlefish in that area around Point Lowly. It won't be switched on, but it will be deployed this weekend so it's ready should it be needed. The algae hasn't got that far yet, but should it get there, we need to be able to protect those cuttlefish.
THOMAS ORITI, HOST:
For our national audience, can you just give us a sense of where exactly this is in terms of the South Australian coastline and how significant something like this is to put that bubble zone in that space?
KAREN GROGAN, LABOR SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
So the algal bloom was first detected in March this year and it was more down around the southern end. But it has moved along the coast in various places along about 4,500 kilometres of coastline. And so this is now going up towards, people would probably know Whyalla and that's where the cuttlefish are and that's where the bubble curtain is looking to be deployed to protect those cuttlefish because they breed at this time of the year. And so it's protecting them at this critical point should the algae come up that far.
THOMAS ORITI, HOST:
Okay, now can I ask you, Senator, about the inquiry you're involved in? Where is that up to? Because is it my understanding that within the next few days we're set to start having some public hearings?
KAREN GROGAN, LABOR SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
Yeah, so we opened up submissions a couple of weeks ago. This inquiry was triggered by the various parties in the parliament coming together. And so there were four senators who came together, including myself, to develop these terms of reference and to actually bring this inquiry into South Australia.
Essentially, what we're looking to do is understand what the situation is now, how it's impacting people, and actually look at how we can plan for the future. What do we need to do right now? And what can we do to mitigate this situation should it occur into the future? There's already been 34 million deployed into various strategies in South Australia Essentially, we need a lot more research and monitoring, but we need to be able to protect our businesses. We've got like the best seafood in the country and that industry is being impacted.
THOMAS ORITI, HOST:
Can I just... want to get my head around some other news this week. Is it my understanding South Australian parliamentarians also voted in favour of a motion put forward by the Greens in the South Australian parliament for a parliamentary inquiry there? there? Is that right? So are we set to see two different inquiries happening here concurrently at both a federal and a state level?
KAREN GROGAN, LABOR SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
Yes, I saw that news too. I think it'll be interesting to see how they're going to conduct themselves. What we're doing is our submissions have now closed. We've had an enormous response and and we'll have hearings next week. So we'll be going to Port Lincoln, Ardrossan, Victor Harbour and Seacliff to hear from science, hear from business, hear from the community about the impacts that they are feeling and actually start to try and bring together what the solutions might be going going forward. How can the state and the federal government work together to mitigate this situation
THOMAS ORITI, HOST:
As you say, Senator, public hearings are expected soon, but you've been travelling around, haven't you? You've been speaking to some of the affected residents, the different tourism operators, fishing operators, of course. What have they been telling you on the ground about the toll this has all taken in recent months?
KAREN GROGAN, LABOR SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
So, obviously, for businesses, the impact has been huge.
Now, I will just say any seafood from South Australia that you find on the shelves of your markets and supermarkets, that is all completely safe. It is tested. It is safe to eat. It's the best seafood in the country. But some of our industry where there have been incidences of the algae impacting, they have been closed down for the time that it's problematic. So that's obviously having a huge impact on business. We're also seeing tourism operators getting cancellations for forward bookings. So I was up in the mid-north talking to people well off the coast and they're finding that bookings for the Christmas, school holidays, are down. People are ringing up and cancelling their bookings. I would urge anyone not to do that. It is a beautiful part of the world, and many of our beaches are really safe to go to. This particular algae is not toxic to humans. It can be a bit of an irritant. So some people have found slight respiratory challenges, irritated eyes, itchy skin. But the advice from Nicola Spurrier our chief health officer, is if you walk to a beach and it's got that slightly murky-looking foam or you see any deceased marine life, then move on. Go to a different beach. We are finding that one beach might be impacted this week, but not next week, as the algae is moving around the coast. But we encourage people to keep coming to visit. The other impact we are seeing is for community members who, we're a great beach going state, not just to swim in the ocean, but people walk on the beach endlessly. It's a real pursuit for South Australians and people are becoming quite distressed. They're upset that you would normally look out to the ocean and that sort of freedom, and people are feeling very upset by the kind of impacts they're seeing and the fact that they're seeing deceased marine life on the beaches.
THOMAS ORITI, HOST:
Important messages there. Senator, thank you very much for joining us. Appreciate your time. Thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate your time.
KAREN GROGAN, LABOR SENATOR FOR SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
Thank you so much.
THOMAS ORITI, HOST:
Thank you. South Australian Labor Senator Karen Grogan, the Deputy Chair of that Federal Inquiry, public hearings to start on Tuesday.