Smithson: Could our algae crisis sink Mali?
The Premier’s office wishes it could wind back the clock several weeks and have plonked Peter Malinauskas into the thick of it from the very early stages, writes Mike Smithson.
Each day is becoming a tough and potentially costly slog for the state government and there’s little let up in sight.
The Premier and cabinet visited the heartland of our algal bloom problems on Yorke Peninsula this week and the strain was showing.
Peter Malinauskas had stripped down to a pair of skins often worn by joggers with a pair of gym shorts over the top and then rugged up his upper half.
He was about to embark on an oyster boat from Stansbury ramp for a journey just offshore with a group of aquatic farmers eager to tell him everything they knew about the industry and their problems, which are plentiful.
They volunteered to shut down their oyster leases after the first detection of toxins, rather than being forced to.
These hardy souls believe that early goodwill and co-operation will pay off when government decisions are made to lift the bans.
But for almost three months they’ve had no income.
So why was the Premier dressed more for an early morning workout than an inspection tour?
Media cameras were also aboard the relatively small craft for the moment he donned industrial-strength waders and slid over the side.
That was a clear image of him getting down and dirty onto the submerged platforms amongst the giant oyster baskets.
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He didn’t need to take the plunge to see the toxic problems which could have easily been explained on deck.
It was also a metaphor for a crucial image which has been lacking.
The Premier’s office wishes it could wind back the clock several weeks and have plonked Peter Malinauskas into the thick of it from the very early stages.
It was a slow response to the massive problem, and they know it.
Hence a reason for the Premier dragging his entire cabinet to Ardrossan’s community hall for a meeting and to hear the problems en masse from locals, which the media has been reporting for several weeks.
My observations, after decades of minor and major political crises, are that the normally unflappable Premier is feeling the strain.
It could have been that he was also dealing with the newest, emerging problem on his radar, namely being sued for $2.3 million dollars by former Labor MP Annabel Digance.
She claims Malinauskas, when Opposition Leader in 2019, maliciously tried to destroy her political career.
It’s a long running saga, which I won’t revisit in full, but one destined to occupy the Premier’s time which is in short supply.
As I first flagged in InDaily two weeks ago, the Premier is in chilly, uncharted waters with problems and costs rising faster than he can fix them.
The $24 million shared burden with Feds to bail out fishing and tourism industries was not even a vague financial impost six months ago.
Last month’s State Budget committed to a new research vessel with only a passing mention of Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB).
Respected oyster industry identity Steve Bowley, standing in the Premier’s shadow at the Ardrossan media conference, claimed the devil would be in the detail of the government’s compensation offer.
When I asked if the individual $100,000 grants for those hurting most would be enough, he replied “of course not”, but was grateful for the speed in landing any money at all.
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Just as the government was in full flight last week trying to regain lost ground over the algal bloom, Bedford Industries’ financial plight publicly surfaced.
Attention was diverted from Friday until a breakthrough of sorts on Sunday when the Premier again fronted the media to explain a complex financial deal to keep Bedford’s doors open.
In his words it would have been “all over red rover” by today had it not been for a $15 million loan in exchange for a Bedford land and accommodation site worth $12 million, arguably much more.
The state government is seeking more federal assistance claiming the disability sector falls into its remit, but there’s not much immediate joy from SA federal political powerhouse Mark Butler.
He’s already indicated “very, very grave concerns” over Bedford’s financial structure which hardly appears to be a good omen.
But both politicians have the smarts to know the irretractable damage which can be caused by images of distressed workers with disabilities fearful they’ll be left stranded.
Still lurking for the Premier are various public sector union pay deals which he admitted last January were keeping him awake at night.
Barely back from Yorkes he was fronting the cameras again with the doctors’ union to outline a peace offer after repeated threats of strike action.
There will undoubtedly be a pay deal struck which is destined to be somewhere between the first government low offer and the original high demand from SASMOA.
In other words, what’s now on the table including a 13 per cent rise over four years.
The Treasurer may have factored in the extra dollars into his original figures but, even so, it will cost us more than first outlined.
Other unions, next in line, will be looking with great anticipation to the doctors’ financial outcome.
So, it’s been a hellava week for the Premier whose two-week vacation with his family must now seem like a distant memory.
He would argue it’s all part of the job, but the Peter Malinauskas I’ve observed over the past week looks to be a little off his usual game.
Meanwhile, other cabinet ministers who I chatted with prior to the community cabinet meeting were as upbeat as I’ve ever seen them.
They’re still a world away from defeat at next year’s state election and they know it.
But it’s increasingly obvious that the buck stops with the Premier.
The ‘world might be his oyster’ but the state’s economy could also do with a golden pearl before any further unexpected financial consequences hit us where we don’t like being shucked.
Mike Smithson is weekend presenter and political analyst for 7News.
