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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2025-10-15 Daily Xml
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Varroa Mite

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:17): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister update the council on the recent increase in biosecurity measures to protect Kangaroo Island from varroa mite?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for his question. Members in this place may be aware that Kangaroo Island is home to an exclusive Ligurian bee population. This particular species was brought over from Italy in 1884 and has thrived on the island. The island's isolation and strict biosecurity measures have protected it largely from disease and from breeding with other types of honey bees. As a result of this, Kangaroo Island's Ligurian bees are the purest strain of Ligurian bees remaining in the world.

Unfortunately, the exotic bee pest varroa mite was detected in hives at the Port of Newcastle, New South Wales, on 22 June 2022 as a result of routine surveillance on the sentinel hives. Varroa mite is considered the greatest biosecurity threat to both Australia's honey bee industry, valued at some $363 million per annum, and Australia's agricultural and horticultural honey bee pollination-dependent industries, with an economic value of honey bee pollination nationally being estimated at some $14 billion per annum.

Varroa is now considered established in Australia across multiple jurisdictions, including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and the ACT. On 2 September 2025, varroa mite was detected in hives in an almond orchard in the Hundred of Pooginook in the Riverland. The detection was confirmed by SARDI on 3 September. I understand all hives in the consignment have been treated and moved out of the state in line with their permit conditions.

PIRSA established a 25-kilometre surveillance buffer around the detection sites and has contacted and is supporting beekeepers with surveillance within the area. Testing associated with this buffer surveillance has returned negative results for the presence of varroa mite, but as a result of the recent detection here in South Australia biosecurity measures have been bolstered to further protect Kangaroo Island's world-famous Ligurian bee population.

I was pleased to recently visit Kangaroo Island and meet with both commercial and recreational beekeepers to discuss the action being taken by the state government to protect the island's pure strain of Ligurian bees from varroa mite. Additional biosecurity staff have been employed by the Department of Primary Industries and Regions to ensure biosecurity checks are carried out on 100 per cent of ferry departures from Cape Jervis to Kangaroo Island.

As a declared bee sanctuary, there are restrictions on the movement of bees, honey and beekeeping equipment to Kangaroo Island. Random biosecurity checks of travellers on board ferry services to the island have been in place for over a decade. This recent change ensures every ferry will be subject to biosecurity checks. In addition to this, a sentinel hive program is also being rolled out as an early warning system to help reduce the risk of varroa establishing and spreading on the island.

I am advised that sentinel hives are now in place at Cape Jervis, Penneshaw, Parndana and Kingscote Airport—that last one being one I had the opportunity to visit while on the island. I also understand American River and Kingscote will be deployed later this week, and D'Estrees Bay, Flinders Chase, Vivonne Bay and Emu Bay over the next fortnight. These hives will be monitored regularly in a collaboration between the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development, the apiary unit of the department, the Kangaroo Island Biosecurity Program and Kangaroo Island beekeepers.

The South Australian government is committed to working with the Kangaroo Island apiary industry to ensure we keep the precious Ligurian bees on Kangaroo Island free of varroa mite wherever possible. I want to thank all of the beekeepers who took time out of their day to meet with me recently to discuss these issues and I look forward to continuing to work with them into the future.

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