Rachel Siewert (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate take note of the document.

I also want to take note of the government's response to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee's report on the future of beekeeping and pollination service industries in Australia.

This is an extremely important issue and I am pleased to see the government has responded. I am more often than not critical of the government, but I do note that they have responded in a timely manner on a number of the Senate committee reports and joint reports. That is good, because it facilitates the committee work that we all put so much time into.

Unfortunately, I cannot be as positive about the way the government has responded to this report. They have not agreed to many of the recommendations. Some of them are noted and some of those in the additional comments response they have not agreed with. This is an extremely important issue. The latest science came out last week. I would urge the government to reconsider the urgency with which they take up some of these recommendations.

Bee-colony collapse is an issue around the world, and Australia is not immune. It is more intense in some areas of Europe and, particularly, in the US. Research that came out last week indicates scientists think they understand much better the reason for bee-colony collapse. It is associated with multiple environmental stresses, such as pathogens, pollution and pesticides.

I understand the scientists to be saying—this is very recent research by Australians—that those multiple environmental stresses mean the younger bees are having to go out and forage much earlier than they used to. When you had older worker bees out there foraging, younger bees would learn how to look after the young, clean the colony and build up strength et cetera. Because those older worker bees are now dying off, the younger bees are leaving the colony earlier and only foraging for a small amount of time. They are not as experienced, and they are not coming back to the colony—that is my layman's version of the science. This is leading to colony collapse. As we get a better understanding of colony collapse, governments and our scientists will be able to direct resources more carefully into addressing it. Bees are absolutely essential for pollination of our agriculture and horticulture.

I urge the government to have a renewed sense of urgency in looking at these recommendations. There is clearly work that needs to be done on pesticides and the impact of pesticides as part of the multiple stresses on bees. There are clearly areas we need to look at about clearing of native vegetation. That is another point that was raised in this report. There are issues around registrations, the use of pesticides, exclusion zones around colonies and access to areas. This is an extremely important issue.

Some of the recommendations in the report should not be written off as much as the government is writing them off. It is an issue we need to keep a very careful eye on, particularly the use of pesticides and which ones are impacting on bees. This is contributing to environmental stresses that lead to the young leaving the colonies. If we do not get this right, our agricultural and horticulture will be under threat—particularly horticulture, because of the critical role bees play in pollination.