South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas has spoken to the Nine network this morning about the federal government’s $14m to address the algal bloom (which will be matched by the state) and says:

I think it’s important for people to realise this is genuinely an unprecedented event. We’ve never seen anything like this in our country before. We’ve never seen an algal bloom of this scale doing this much damage, particularly close to a metropolitan coastline. So it’s a big deal, and I’m very grateful the federal government came to the fore. 

I mean, from the state government’s perspective, I think it is important that we do acknowledge this is a natural disaster. I don’t think we should be getting caught up in weasel words. It’s a it’s a natural disaster. It’s no different to when we see a flood or a fire.

Except, of course, that this isn’t something we’ve seen before, and I think it’s important we remain vigilant and continue to respond. Certainly as the science evolves. And we seem to learn more about this every single day that goes by.