Overview
- The Senate committee tabled a 207-page final report on Tuesday finding state and federal responses were “far too slow.”
- The inquiry, chaired by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young, was unanimous and documented major gaps in monitoring, research capacity and preparedness.
- The report calls for a national framework for climate-induced ecological events, clearer responsibilities across governments, and sustained funding for HAB research and long-term ocean monitoring.
- Governments announced a $102.5 million summer plan and say joint investments now exceed $136 million, yet witnesses argued support is inadequate and urged disaster classification changes to unlock more aid.
- The bloom impacted more than 30% of South Australia’s coastline with over 13,000 recorded animal deaths and is now showing localized easing near Adelaide as a separate state inquiry and recovery efforts continue.