By Sophie Holder,Thomas Kelsall

Copyright abc

Federal environment department officials did not become aware of the impact of South Australia’s algal bloom until “towards the end of May” when they had their “first formal contact” with the South Australian government, a Senate inquiry has heard.

Officials from the federal environment department fronted a Senate inquiry on Wednesday, where they were grilled over the speed of their response to the algal bloom.

The inquiry heard federal Environment Minister Murray Watt was first formally briefed about the bloom on July 11 — about two months after he was sworn into the portfolio.

However, a South Australian government spokesperson said in a statement that state and federal government agencies had been working together since the bloom was detected in March.

“The former South Australian environment minister contacted Minister Watt on 12 May, the day he was appointed environment minister, to bring him up to date with issues in SA’s environment, including the bloom, which at that stage scientists were advising was still likely to dissipate with a break in the season,” they said.

By that month, the bloom had grown to more than 4,000 square kilometres, roughly equivalent to the size of Kangaroo Island, and there were hopes that cooler ocean temperatures would break up the bloom.

When questioned whether the minister’s formal briefing in July was too late, Katrina Maguire, head of the federal department’s international environment, reef and oceans division, replied: “We really became aware of the [bloom’s] impact first towards the end of May.”

“Our understanding of the situation really escalated in July,” she said.

Ms Maguire said May was when “we first had more detailed conversations with the South Australian government” about the bloom due to the impact it was having on the Ramsar-listed Coorong wetlands.

The bloom was first detected two months earlier off the Fleurieu Peninsula.

“The first formal contact we’re aware of with the South Australian government was towards the end of May,” Ms Maguire said.

Asked why “alarm bells” were not ringing before May, Ms Maguire said: “I can’t answer why we were not aware before then.”

“All I can say is that at the end of May, we became aware that the issue was escalating and significant and that continued through until July when it became evident just how significant it was,” she said.

Asked how the department became aware that the issue was escalating, Ms Maguire said: “It was a combination of conversations with the South Australian government and the media.”

‘Huge gap’ in federal-state communications

The Senate evidence prompted criticisms from both the Greens and the Liberal Party, with Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young arguing that July 11 was too late to brief the minister.

“Tens of thousands of fish and marine life had already died, they were washing up dead on Adelaide’s metro beaches, the fishing industry had been decimated, and the tourism industry was already ringing the alarm bell,” she said.

“To get a briefing on the 11th of July was just not good enough — no wonder the federal government has been slow to act.”

A spokesperson for the federal environment department told the ABC it briefed the minister “when the nature, growing scale and impact of the bloom became clear — and that it was not dissipating as quickly as initially expected”.

Liberal Party senator Leah Blyth questioned why there was what she described as a “huge gap in communication” between state and federal authorities.

She asked officials at the hearing what they would “do differently to make sure we don’t have this enormous bloom happening with no visibility by federal agencies at all”.

Ms Maguire replied that the federal government was investing more in forecasting marine heatwaves, which would be “a really important tool for the public to be able to use”.

“I hear what you’re saying about when we first became aware, but I must say, in July, when we became aware of the scale of the issue, just how quickly the government responded with the funding package,” she said.

On July 21, 10 days after he was first briefed on the bloom, Mr Watt visited Adelaide to announce a $14 million federal support package.

Mr Watt said in statement that the Albanese government was “firmly committed to supporting South Australians in responding to this unprecedented event”.

“We have provided every dollar sought by the SA government, and will consider any request for further assistance,” he said.

The Senate committee is expected to hand down its report on October 28.