Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

My question is for the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry. Until last year, Australia was one of the last remaining countries to be free of Varroa destructor mite, a bug that has already devastated bee colonies in Europe, the United States and New Zealand. It's now been more than a year since the Varroa mite was first detected in Newcastle, and it is still on the move. In my state of Tasmania, honey bee products and pollination services are worth approximately $20 million per year, and this does not include bees' immense value to agriculture. Yesterday we learnt it has now reached parts of New South Wales near the Victorian border, leaving Victorian beekeepers stranded inside the 25-kilometre exclusion zone. Is the minister still confident that enough is being done to stop the spread of the Varroa mite?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Thank you, Senator Lambie, for your interest in what is a really important topic of concern not just to beekeepers and they honey bee industry but also to horticulture and pollination industries in particular. You're right that Varroa mite was first detected in the Port of Newcastle in June last year, and we've been working very closely with the New South Wales government ever since to try to contain this, bring it under control and, in fact, eradicate Varroa mite because of the danger that it presents.

We do take this as a very serious biosecurity outbreak that needs to be eradicated, and as recently as this morning I spoke again with my department's biosecurity section to get the latest update on where they are at in their negotiations with New South Wales, because we are providing them with whatever assistance we possibly can provide, including dollars, to help eradicate Varroa mite. I'm certainly aware of the evolving situation we face in New South Wales, particularly the recent detections of Varroa mite in Kempsey, and the New South Wales Department of Primary Industries has been following up on a number of tracing links out of this area.

As you're probably aware, the federal government's primary role in relation to biosecurity is to keep things out of the country. If they do, unfortunately, make their way in, as seems to have occurred in this case, it is primarily the responsibility of state and territory governments to manage those outbreaks, but, of course, that is with our assistance, and that's what we're doing. There is also an investigation underway as to how Varroa mite got into Australia in the first place, and that is obviously something that we're leading the work on given our responsibilities around borders.

I very much share your concern and I've seen the damage that it's already inflicted on beekeepers and the pollination industries. We'll keep working as hard as we possibly can with New South Wales to eradicate it.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, first supplementary?

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This potentially catastrophic migration of Varroa mite is happening at the peak of our pollination season, with bees being trucked across the country while small operators are in limbo with their businesses devastated. Is the minister being pressured by big mainland commercial producers to manage Varroa mite instead of eradicating it?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, the short answer is no. I certainly haven't been put under any pressure whatsoever from anyone to do anything other than attempt to eradicate varroa mite. That's certainly the focus that we have.

I am concerned that the varroa mite has continued to spread. Fortunately, it hasn't spread at this point in time beyond the New South Wales borders, but we need to keep it that way and we need to help New South Wales to eradicate it from within its borders as well. But, no—absolutely not have I been placed any pressure. The only discussions I've had with the honeybee industry in general have been very positive and directed towards how we can work together to eradicate varroa mite, and how we can compensate those beekeepers who have suffered losses as a result of the eradication of their hives.

But, again, Senator Lambie, I'm very committed to doing what we can to work with the New South Wales government to eradicate varroa mite and I'm happy to provide you any further briefing. (Time expired)

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Lambie, a second supplementary.

Jacqui Lambie (Tasmania, Jacqui Lambie Network) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In July last year, Minister, you said that you were seeking to remove varroa mite from our shores. Last week on the ABC you confirmed that eradication is focused on south-east New South Wales. Does the minister seriously still believe that he can pull out a magic wand and eradicate the varroa mite from Australia?

Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Again, Senator Lambie, as I've already said, the primary responsibility for managing and controlling biosecurity outbreaks when they occur in Australia lies with state and territory governments. We do support them in that, and we're providing substantial funding to do so. So it's not a matter of me having a magic wand or me having a solution, it's about what the New South Wales government can do with our support. And we're working very closely with them to do so.

There may come a point in the future where it proves that varroa mite cannot be eradicated, but we're not at that point and we're doing everything we possibly can with the New South Wales government to eradicate it. That is absolutely our preference. As I said, as recently as today I confirmed with our department that that's our intention. Meetings are ongoing with the New South Wales government about what more we can do to adjust their program and adjust their plan to eradicate varroa mite, and that remains our intention.