World needs to see algal bloom: Mayor
International
The algal bloom crisis affecting much of coastal South Australia is the canary in the coalmine for an impending global environmental catastrophe.
That’s the warning from City of Onkaparinga mayor Moira Were after returning from the C40 World Mayors Summit in Rio de Janeiro and the COP30 climate change conference in Belém at the head of the Amazon River in Brazil.
The former chair of the Catholic Diocesan Peace and Justice Committee and mayor of the State’s largest metropolitan council says immediate action is imperative to prevent long term environmental disaster brought about by climate change.
She wants South Australia to use the algal bloom as a form of ‘show and tell’ to help prevent further damage to our natural surroundings.
“Algal bloom is affecting my community,” said Ms Were, who lives at Sellicks Beach.
“We have got it right here, right now. Sea temperatures have increased and there are little atolls in the Pacific that will not be here in 20 years’ time.
“We have a responsibility to our neighbours and there has to be a real partnership between us and the Pacific. If it’s happening to us, it will be happening everywhere.”
The algal bloom crisis was a hot topic at COP30 with Ms Were helping people understand “just how big it is”.
There was no shying away despite delegates debating whether to appoint Adelaide or Turkey as the host venue for next year’s COP.
The decision, post conference, to award COP 2026 to Turkey was a political rather than environmental statement, she stressed.
One of the positives from the C40 conference was its recognition of the ability of local government through its scale to effect change quickly, she said, with 100 mayors from around the globe in attendance.
Ms Were cited London mayor Sadiq Khan who claimed “local government can move faster than premiers and prime ministers”.
One of three South Australian and 13 Australian mayors making the trip to Brazil, Ms Were said there also were hundreds of delegates from industry, community groups, youth groups, First Nation representatives, churches and all levels of government.
Their message was “come and learn from us”, not just about algal bloom but renewables, and especially solar energy.
“We have got everything in Onkaparinga, bush fires, floods, algal bloom,” she said.
“There is not an environmental crisis we have not had.
“We know what it’s looking like whether we like it or not, we have to face facts. We have to change our relationship with fossil fuels more than anything.”
A mother of four children, a foster daughter and four grandchildren, Ms Were has taken her three-and-a-half-year-old grandchild to see the fish washed up on Onkaparinga beaches.
“The little ones will always know the algal bloom exists,” she said. “We can’t put our heads in the sand.”
She is concerned too for businesses in the region that have been badly impacted by the algal bloom. It is yet another reason she wants people to come to Adelaide to learn more.
