Ms BADGER (Lyons) – Ecological disaster, minister. That is what it has been called and what is happening in South Australia because our oceans are dying. That is not some flippant, emotional response. That is what the science is telling us and they are the facts. This is our oceans are warming because of human‑induced climate change. That is a fact and that is from the science and what are you doing as environment minister to protect our marine environments or to even act on climate change?
What we are seeing that is happening in South Australia is that our environment is sick and people are becoming sick as well. Humans are at risk when our environment is that sick. I am not convinced from the minister’s response in Question Time this morning, or to stand here and say that she will not be accepting and noting in this House the marine environment, as environment minister?
Dr Woodruff – Shameful.
Ms Badger – That is fundamentally dismissing your job. How can you be taking this seriously? You are not, at all, and you have completely just demonstrated that. Ecological disaster is what it has been called, on the South Australian algal bloom, the deaths and destruction that followed, that is impacting human health. There were surfers and swimmers and people who visited that beach who became sick. The first impacts of that toxic bloom were evident back in March, and there are now thousands of square kilometres that are being impacted. That is also having flow‑on effects to the tourism industry and the fishing industry, and that is similar to what we are going to see here. But we –
Ms Ogilvie – It is regulated.
Ms BADGER – You are not, what are you doing?
Members interjecting.
Ms BADGER – Algal blooms are not regulated, minister. We cannot control when an algae bloom happens. Are we also going to regulate what degree our ocean is warming? This shows the absolute lack of knowledge and understanding and seriousness of this issue from this minister, and it is absolutely appalling. Our planet is dying, and the Environment minister says it is regulated. Absolutely appalling. Shame on you, minister. Absolutely shameful.
Ms Ogilvie – For what?
Ms BADGER – In Tasmania, the toxic algal blooms are a result of the elevated nutrient levels in our waterways. What is being done to monitor all of those? What is this minister actually doing? The algal bloom – Dr Woodruff, member for Franklin, has touched on this. It was detected in Mercury Passage and Boomer Bay to begin with, Okehampton Bay, adjacent to a salmon farm in Mercury Passage. Is that a coincidence? What science has been done over here, minister?
The paralytic shellfish toxin is from contamination of shellfish by the algal blooms. The poisoning that can come from that is incredibly serious. There is an incredibly serious human health risk associated with it. Some of the symptoms include numbness, tingling of the face as well as gastrointestinal issues. In serious cases this can lead to respiratory failure and death.
Facts, minister. This outbreak is shutting down local and recreational commercial shellfishing. Why are we not taking it seriously? It is impacting the environment, and it is impacting our economy and local jobs, yet we have heard crickets from the Minister for the Environment. What about from health? What about those impacts on Tasmanian people? We have seen what has happened in South Australia –
Members interjecting.
DEPUTY SPEAKER – Order, Ms Badger will be heard in silence from both sides. That includes her own party, members of which can stop interjecting.
Ms BADGER – Thank you, Deputy Chair. It seems inappropriate to read out what the next line was – the silence from this government on this matter is deafening – because you are very loud on nonsense defence. People on the east coast, right across Lutruwita/Tasmania – our oceans are everything to Tasmanians.
There is some ludicrous statistic about the number of Tasmanians that have boats and shacks compared to any other state in Australia –
Ms Ogilvie – What is it? What is the number?
Ms BADGER – Are you now doubting, minister, that lots of Tasmanians think the ocean is important and that we have dinghies and shacks?
Ms Ogilvie – No, I am asking if you know the number of people who own boats.
DEPUTY SPEAKER – Order.
Ms BADGER – Why do I not come back to you with it? I will come back to you with it when you come back to us with the science on this.
Ms Ogilvie – That would be great, thanks very much.
Dr Woodruff – You are such a shameful minister.
Ms Ogilvie – A personal attack again?
Members interjecting.
DEPUTY SPEAKER – Order. The House will come to order.
Ms BADGER – The penguins in Bicheno – there was a mass exodus of that colony that coincided with a four‑degree offshore warming. That happened in the middle of breeding season, so what are the impacts going to be moving forward? We wrote to the Minister for the Environment, who fobbed us off to the minister for biosecurity – part of your role, I think, Ms Howlett, I am not sure. We talked about reconvening the Penguin Advisory Board and actually getting the science so that we can find out what the impact is going to be, because what if it happens again next year? What is the impact going to be long term? This is the most appalling debate from the Minister for the Environment not taking this seriously.
Time expired.
