And why did it take the government so long to act on the South Australian algae bloom which is devastating local marine life? (Phil Coorey at the AFR has been one of the loudest journalist voices in covering the disaster, and made the point early and often that if the dead marine life had been washing up at Bondi beach, it would have been national news from the beginning)

Environment minister Murray Watt recently went to look at the devastation himself, and has now led to a stronger government response.

Tony Burke says:

Look, the wording of national disaster applies to very specific events. There’s a legislated, formalised list of events that this is not in.

That doesn’t change the fact that it’s an environmental disaster. It doesn’t change the fact that all eyes of the nation are on it. It doesn’t change the fact that for the people of South Australia, what they are seeing, you know, carcasses washing up onto their beaches, is absolutely horrific. It’s appropriate there’s a national response.

There are particular words that don’t fit a legal definition that’s there but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re treating it as something that matters to the whole nation, that is a disaster and that warrants our response.

Would it have received a quicker response if it were happening in Sydney or Melbourne?

Burke:

Murray Watt, the Environment Minister, was there on the ground yesterday. The Premier made statements as well yesterday. We’re working cooperatively. This is a new event. You know, we’ve had algal blooms before but of this particular scale. It’s affected by climate change. It’s something that is a slow-moving, but having a horrific impact. You know, I’ve spoken to people who live in some of the coastal areas in South Australia, who have just spoken about the horror of, you know, going for what’s meant to be, you know… they love, absolutely love the concept of going for a walk on the beach and what’s been one of their great joys in life has now just become this horrifically depressing moment. It’s not something that governments, state or federal, can immediately, you know, fix. We don’t have a method of immediately stopping an algal bloom, but we need to be able to work together in dealing with a response and that’s what we’re doing.