Primary Industries and Regions Department

441 The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) ().19 August 2025).

1. In regard to Primary Industries, tomato brown rugose virus (Budget Paper 4, Volume 4, page 58):

(a) Why isn't an independent investigation into the government's handling of the tomato brown rugose virus part of the targets for 2025-26?

(b) Now that a second outbreak in NSW has been found not related to the outbreak in South Australia, what is the minister doing to ensure that market access rules reflect the current risk landscape and that South Australian growers are not subjected to stricter requirements than producers in other states?

(c) When is the new management plan going to be released to the industry?

(d) Does the minister stand by her decision to pursue eradication of tomato brown rugose fruit virus, despite consistent advice from industry that the virus was already endemic globally and that eradication was neither feasible nor practical?

2. In regard to Primary Industries, varroa mite (Budget Paper 4, Volume 4, page 59):

(a) How has the government engaged with commercial beekeepers and pollination dependent industries regarding the upcoming pollination season and varroa risk preparedness?

(b) What specific engagement activities have the varroa development officers undertaken with South Australian apiarists and horticultural growers to address concerns about pollination capacity and biosecurity?

(c) Have the varroa development officers conducted or facilitated a statewide audit of hive availability to support local pollination demands for the upcoming season? If not, why not? If so, when was this completed and has it been communicated to the apiarist industry and primary producers?

(d) What active surveillance measures are currently in place at South Australia's border entry points to monitor and prevent the introduction of varroa mite?

(e) How many inspections or interventions have been conducted since the detection of varroa interstate?

(f) How will growers be supported if local hive availability is insufficient and interstate hives are deemed too high risk to import?

(g) Is there a formal pollination continuity plan in place in the event that border closures restrict access to necessary hive numbers?

(h) What funding or support mechanisms are in place to help South Australian apiarists scale up operations to meet domestic pollination demands safely?

3. In regard to Primary Industries, state biosecurity strategy (Budget Paper 4, Volume 4, page 59):

(a) How can industry and the public have confidence in a biosecurity framework that the government appears unwilling to have independently scrutinised?

(b) How is the government ensuring the robustness and credibility of the new state biosecurity strategy if it is not subject to independent review or assessment?

(c) How will the government incorporate lessons from recent biosecurity responses, such as tomato brown rugose fruit virus, and abalone viral ganglioneuritis incursions, into the strategy development?

4. In regard to Primary Industries, dog fence rebuild (Budget Paper 4, Volume 4, page 59):

(a) Is the rebuild of the dog fence currently on track to be completed by the June 2026 target?

(b) What percentage of the 1,600 kilometres has been completed to date, and how much remains?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries): I am advised:

1.

(a) As custodians of the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed, Plant Health Australia will coordinate a national review, independent to the South Australian government, regarding the operation of the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed and PLANTPLAN, to help inform any future responses. That review will include input from all signatories to the deed, including industry bodies.

(b) South Australia has successfully achieved area freedom from tomato brown rugose fruit virus (ToBRFV), marking a major biosecurity milestone.

Following its initial detection in August 2024 on three properties in the Northern Adelaide Plains, PIRSA swiftly implemented containment measures including quarantine, crop destruction, and rigorous surveillance. These efforts effectively limited the virus to the original sites and protected the vast majority of South Australia's $230 million tomato industry from the impacts of this disease.

These efforts supported around 200 South Australian growers in being able to continue to grow and market their premium produce both here and interstate. Throughout the outbreak, the vast majority of South Australian growers continued trading under strict certification protocols, ensuring market confidence.

Over 23,000 samples have been tested across 109 properties, with no detections since March 2025. Biosecurity control orders on the affected properties were lifted in August 2025 after thorough decontamination.

The issuance of an area freedom certificate in September 2025 restored market access, including into Queensland, which now recognises South Australia's pest-free status. This outcome reflects the resilience of SA's horticulture sector and the effectiveness of coordinated government-industry response strategies

Of course, under our system of federation, every jurisdiction ultimately has the right to make their own decisions on interstate trade arrangements, but the South Australian government continues to do all that it can to ensure that market access arrangements reflect the current risk landscape.

(c) Although it is pleasing that ToBRFV is no longer present in South Australia, the national management group agreed it is no longer technically feasible to eradicate the virus from Australia in May 2025,

On 22 September 2025 the national management group also decided to end the national response to ToBRFV without a formal transition to management program, paving the way for industry to take the lead in managing the on-farm impacts of this disease.

(d) The decision to pursue eradication of tomato brown rugose fruit virus was a national decision agreed to by the national management group under the Emergency Plant Pest Response Deed, to which all Australian jurisdictions and several dozens of industry bodies are signatories. Under these arrangements, any decision for a national biosecurity response such as this is based on scientific and technical advice provided by the consultative committee on emergency plant pests.

2.

(a) The South Australian Varroa Industry Advisory Committee (SAVIAC) is a group that was set up to give advice to PIRSA on issues relating to varroa. This group comprises representation from the two industry associations, the South Australian Apiarist Association (SAAA) and the Beekeepers' Society of South Australia Inc (BSSA) as well as pollination dependent industries including the almond, apple and pear industries. The SAVIAC had input and signoff on the South Australian Varroa Transition to Management Plan (SA Varroa T2M Plan) which sets out a plan on how PIRSA will manage movements of apiary commodities under different conditions as varroa spreads, allowing for business continuity and movements for business-critical needs including hives for pollination.

As at 30 June 2025, the SAVIAC is still currently meeting and providing PIRSA advice on the commodities that are considered business critical and how these movements should occur.

PIRSA communicates policy and procedure changes and requirements to registered commercial and recreational beekeepers and pollination dependent industries through a biosecurity notice which is emailed to their primary contact email address. This information is distributed via PIRSA social media avenues and available on the departmental website.

(b) It is not the role of varroa development officer (VDO) to address concern about pollination capacity and general biosecurity. Their role is to provide education training to all beekeepers regarding monitoring for and managing varroa mite.

Since the VDOs commenced in November 2024 they have undertaken in excess of 550 engagement activities involving over 1,000 beekeepers from across all regions of South Australia.

(c) It is not the role of VDOs to undertake a statewide audit of hive availability. Similarly, the role of the department is not to act as a broker between horticultural operations and beekeepers. These are business decisions and legal contracts between parties with legal implications.

The sourcing of hives is a matter for the individual horticulture business. The department does facilitate this by ensuring hives that are seeking to enter SA pose the least biosecurity risk, while still allowing business continuity i.e. pollination services to occur, consistent with the varroa transition to management plan.

SA commercial beekeepers have approx. 60,000-65,000 registered hives. A proportion of these beekeepers do not wish to partake in provision of pollination services instead focussing on honey and apiary commodity production as their business model.

SAVIAC is providing advice from its members to PIRSA on the number of hives required for pollination in 2025.

(d) The department has both active and passive surveillance measures in place for the 2025 pollination season.

As at 30 June, active measures include direct inspections at quarantine stations along many of the main arterial border entry points into SA, including at Yamba (24-hour station operating seven days a week), Oodla Wirra, Pinnaroo and Ceduna. Quarantine staff are trained to look for the entry of apiary commodities and are kept up to date with entry requirements for these items.

PIRSA staff also conduct random roadblocks (RRB's) regularly including Bordertown to monitor and intercept potential biosecurity risks to the state. This includes the movement of apiary products. There were RRB's booked in at Bordertown for both July and August of 2025.

Passive surveillance measures deployed by the PIRSA apiary unit include remote concealed cameras to monitor movements of apiary commodities.

These cameras were deployed to monitor potential illegal border movements of apiary products. PIRSA does not widely advertise the technologies used to protect surveillance methodologies and avoid people actively seeking to interfere with these cameras.

(e) Since varroa was first detected in New South Wales in June 2022, South Australia implemented a permit entry system for the entry of apiary products, commodities and equipment providing capacity to undertake pre-entry investigation and risk assessment prior to entry and post-entry testing in SA.

During the almond pollination season in 2025 alone, 1,481 individual samples were taken by PIRSA for varroa testing from hives related to permit applications. These samples consisted of bees, alcohol washed bee samples, filter papers, sticky mats after acaricide use and uncapped drone brood.

Since 2023, PIRSA has conducted in excess of 3,100 inspections or interventions of apiary commodities and equipment in efforts to detect varroa and check for compliance with permit conditions.

(f) Pollination dependent industries and the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) are researching many strategies to increase the efficacy/strength of bees and hives and reduce the reliance on hives for pollination and, some of these including self-pollination varieties, utilisation of drones, air blast.

(g) PIRSA continues to examine the needs of pollination dependent industries while balancing the biosecurity impact for South Australia producers.

At a national level, the Australian pollination strategy is being developed by the Wheen Bee Foundation, where the strategy will be a model of best practice, with policies aimed to optimise bees and other pollinators to leverage pollination for the benefit of the environment, biodiversity and food security.

(h) PIRSA is working with the South Australian Apiarists' Association to establish an Apiary and Pollination Industry Development Reference Group. The reference group will have a targeted focus on the development of an industry blueprint to identify issues and actions to ensure a sustainable apiary industry which will also support pollination dependent industries.

PIRSA supports beekeepers directly through free access to the family and business (FaB) mentor program which aids in accessing in financial advice and counselling.

Beekeepers have taken the opportunity to attend farm business resilience (FBR) training, supported by the National Future Drought Fund (FDF) program. This training assists to provide beekeepers the skills and tools to assess their operation to make informed business decisions.

Two additional FBR training opportunities will be conducted specifically for commercial beekeepers later in 2025.

3.

(a) The Department of Primary Industries and Regions (PIRSA) continues to advance the development of South Australia's state biosecurity strategy (strategy).

PIRSA held a workshop attended by peak industry representatives on 15 April 2025 that focused on:

building a transdisciplinary culture of shared responsibility among participants within the sector

clarifying and developing a shared language

determining the role of government and industry within the biosecurity chain.

The workshop enabled industry to articulate their respective sector's biosecurity priority areas and identified key principles that will be considered during the development phase of the strategy including:

prevention and preparedness

education and awareness

improved biosecurity standards and practices

broader biosecurity risk management.

The strategy development will continue to include consultation across the PIRSA divisions, selected government agencies and industry sectors providing an opportunity for stakeholders to have input and inform the development and review of the strategy.

(b) PIRSA will facilitate consultation of the draft strategy with selected stakeholders providing an opportunity for feedback and review of the strategy.

(c) As a control agency, PIRSA facilitates a review of response activities. Observations and insights are incorporated in accordance with the South Australian Emergency Management Lessons Management Framework and will be a source considered during the strategy development phase.

4.

(a) The rebuild of the dog fence is on track to be completed by the end of June 2026, pending weather and labour availability.

(b) As of September 2025, about 1,075 kilometres, or 67 per cent, of the dog fence has been rebuilt. Contractors are currently on site at two sites that cover just over 400 kilometres of fence. After this, there is just one site left to rebuild to complete the rebuild project.