Varroa Mite

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:29): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking a question of the Minister for Primary Industries on the topic of varroa mite and the current pollination period.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: The horticultural pollination season is set to begin within days, with crops such as almonds, apples, berries and vegetables all heavily reliant on bee pollination. Industry stakeholders have raised serious concerns about the government's preparedness to meet pollination demands whilst managing the biosecurity threat of varroa mite.

My question to the minister is: given the significant economic risk posed by either a pollination shortfall or indeed a varroa mite incursion, will the minister advise what urgent actions the government is taking to ensure pollination needs are met safely, specifically in relation to maintaining high border restrictions, surveillance at entry points and, most importantly, auditing local hive capacity and industry engagement in regard to that hive capacity and that audit?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:31): I thank the honourable member for her question. To go to the final part of that question first, in regard to engagement, I will just remind members of some of the things that have occurred to date. The 'South Australian Varroa Program: Detection Response & Transition to Management Plan' was released in October last year. The plan was developed in consideration of advice from SAVIAC and also sought both public and industry feedback via YourSAy.

SAVIAC continues to provide advice to PIRSA in response to the expansion of varroa mite into Queensland, Victoria and the ACT, as it is at the moment, and changes in cross-border regulations. The department provides critical information regarding changes in varroa distribution, upcoming events, training resources and financial and wellbeing support services. The information is distributed fortnightly via email and digital media avenues to all registered beekeepers.

Funding has been allocated to support three varroa development officers and one extension and engagement coordinator to work with the state's beekeepers and apiary associations, which is assisting them to prepare and to manage varroa mite over the long term. Since their recruitment in November last year, the varroa development officers have conducted more than 400 engagements with over 750 beekeepers, while a workshop series has delivered our workshops to over 400 beekeepers, with additional workshops being rolled out later this month and also in early July. The support is being provided at least until February 2026. Obviously, we will consider future resourcing at that time.

There are several quarantine stations on main arterial road entry points into South Australia, with quarantine staff trained to look for biosecurity risks to the state, including apiary commodities. Quarantine staff are kept up to date with permit requirements for apiary commodities. In addition to this, a number of random roadblocks are set up at other entry points, including Bordertown, where they perform the same functions as those permanent quarantine stations. I am aware of planned roadblocks occurring at Bordertown in July and August.

PIRSA also utilises target remote surveillance technology to monitor alternative routes into the state in case of illegal movement of apiary commodities. PIRSA can also request access to information received by static traffic cameras run by the Department for Infrastructure and Transport for investigations into illegal movements of apiary commodities. The PIRSA apiary unit is, further, finalising a more streamlined process for the processing of permits for apiary commodities entering the state to redirect resources into active field surveillance in favour of manually processing permits and desktop auditing of paperwork.

We, as a state, of course, have committed to implementing the national varroa response plan and the subsequent transition to management program which aims to slow the spread of varroa across Australia. That is supported through a permitted entry process that focuses on risk-based movements, pre-entry and post-entry treatments, and surveillance conditions for bees and bee commodities originating from other jurisdictions. These same conditions also apply to SA beekeepers returning from interstate.

In terms of auditing and assessing local hive resources, SAVIAC is providing advice from its members to PIRSA on the number of hives required for pollination in 2025. Information received from SAVIAC is that there is currently a shortfall of SA hives available for pollination services this year.

Some SA beekeepers are withdrawing from providing these services due to a range of reasons but mainly, according to our advice, centring around hives that are in poor condition due to drought and therefore not being fit for service. There are a range of reasons why South Australian beekeepers may not wish to provide hives for pollination services, and ultimately this is a business decision for those apiarists to make.

I understand there are brokers in place who manage the sourcing of hives between pollination-dependent industries and apiarists, and that varroa development officers are supporting beekeepers with advice and assistance to monitor for varroa mite to aid in its earliest possible detection.