Vincent Tarzia's self-proclaimed 'watchdog' Frank Pangallo has been caught out providing a dodgy document to a Parliamentary Committee, after he disgracefully sought to use an environmental crisis to amplify a debunked conspiracy theory.
The Government is demanding Mr Pangallo formally apologise and resign from the Budget and Finance Committee forthwith.
And Vincent Tarzia must intervene and force him to quit the committee, to ensure his self-described 'watchdog' is no longer running rampant, spreading dangerous misinformation.
In a recent Budget and Finance Committee hearing, Liberal committee member Frank Pangallo repeatedly pushed the notion that Adelaide's desalination plant may have caused the harmful algal bloom, despite repeated assurances from expert witnesses that the science did not back up the claim.
"I just want to briefly outline what the science is actually telling us about the potential links between desalination plants and harmful algal blooms (HABs) and what needs to be done to manage this risk," Mr Pangallo told the committee.
"This isn't some fantastical conspiracy theory and, unlike the Premier and his 'Yes Ministers', I am basing it on facts I have actually researched."
Mr Pangallo insisted he would be "providing literature" to back up his claims, but to date has only provided a single piece of paper - referencing research that it appears does not exist.
No academic papers appear to directly match the titles, authors and dates provided by Mr Pangallo, while specific papers cited are not listed in the volumes or journals cited in his brief bibliography.
Three of the four articles cited included URLs, but none of these link to any relevant articles, and certainly not the ones they purport to.
While in some cases research papers exist with similarities to those cited, they either have completely different authors from those claimed by Mr Pangallo, different publication dates, or different titles.
The final document cited, "A review of harmful algal blooms and their potential impacts on desalination plants" by 'Richlen, M.L.', was not listed in the claimed source material, 'Harmful Algae, vol.9, no.5.
Moreover M.L. Richlen, a research specialist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, has confirmed that she never authored such a paper.
Mr Pangallo must immediately explain how and why he has produced this document.
Vincent Tarzia must also explain whether the Liberals support the production of misattributed or non-existent documents to spread dangerous misinformation during a serious environmental crisis, in a way which harms businesses and undermines public confidence.
According to South Australia's independent Environmental Protection Authority, a comprehensive and on-going monitoring program has confirmed there is no evidence to support a causal link between the desalination plant and harmful algal blooms.
Extensive monitoring has demonstrated that the Karenia mikimotoi bloom that began in March 2025 started on the southern Fleurieu Peninsula around Waitpinga and Parsons beaches.
As put by Tom Koutsantonis
Frank's fake links and dodgy documents are not evidence – they are a disgrace to the parliament.
It is not merely irresponsible, but reprehensible to play politics with an environmental crisis causing significant stress to marine life, the health of our coastal waters and the livelihoods of local businesses.
Mr Pangallo claimed to have done his own research – surely then the Liberals' star recruit must have known that the documents, authors and links provided on his 'back of a napkin' bibliography provided to the parliament didn't stack up?
A serious question now presents itself as to whether Mr Pangallo has misled the Parliament of South Australia.
In any event, he has certainly misled the people of South Australia.
He must apologise and resign from the Committee.
If he won't, then Vincent Tarzia must take action – and without delay.
