Apiaries Amendment Bill 2006
Reverend the Hon. Dr GORDON MOYES: The object of the Apiaries Amendment Bill is to make a number of amendments to the Apiaries Act 1985 to improve the administration of beekeeping in New South Wales. Many people may not be aware that beekeeping, an activity regarded as a recreational pastime for many, plays a major role in delivering benefits to the agricultural industry and the economy as a whole. In 2003 the Australian Bureau of Statistics reported that the Australian beekeeping industry had a gross value of production of just over $60 million per year, with $26.8 million produced in New South Wales. Interestingly, these amounts pale in comparison with the estimated benefit to the Australian economy from cross-pollination by honeybees. Some have reported that the value of this free pollination service to the economy is close to $1.7 billion. Thus honeybees play a crucial role in the development of agricultural and horticultural crops in this nation.
By way of background to the industry, an Australian Bureau of Statistics report of 2003 entitled “Australia’s Environment: Issues and Trends” states that registered hives in Australia numbered 466,684, delivering 32,675 tonnes of honey for domestic and international consumption. In New South Wales registered hives number 209,049, with a honey production of 14,635 tonnes. These statistics were collected in 1998. A more recent snapshot of beekeeping activities is required to accurately depict the status of this industry. Total production not only includes the production of liquid honey, with which we are typically familiar, but also beeswax, and queen and package bees.
In New South Wales the keeping of bees is regulated by the Apiaries Act 1985. Aside from administrative matters, one of the objects of the legislation is to prevent the introduction of, and to control and eradicate, certain diseases and pests, which afflict bees and apiaries in New South Wales. This is of vital importance not only for the agricultural industry but also for the conservation of native flora and fauna. Further, the Apiaries Act has put in place arrangements to mitigate any risk to the public arising from the keeping of bees. A study indicates that between 1979 and 1998, 38 bee-related fatalities had occurred in Australia and many of the bee sting victims were apiarists. Eleven bee sting deaths occurred in New South Wales during that period.
Some fatalities have occurred within urban settings. Members may remember that in 2000 Marianna Savor died after she and her baby daughter were attacked by a swarm of bees kept by Ms Savor’s mother’s home in Stanmore. This tragic incident prompted an inquiry into the level of risk to humans posed by urban beekeeping. The inquiry resulted in a code of conduct for beekeeping, and the minimisation of the number of hives and their location on a block. Responsible beekeeping in New South Wales is now promoted through a voluntary beekeeping code of practice. I own a small property on the Central Coast. Some years ago we purchased and registered one hive of bees, which stands in a triple section. After having a very successful year of getting honey from those bees, my eldest son and I one day discovered a wild swarm in a high gum tree.
I encouraged him to climb the gum tree so that if he tapped the branch suddenly the swarm would drop. Meanwhile I stood below with a cardboard box with a lid so that when the swarm fell into the box I would close the lid and I would be able to double the number of bees I had in my one single triple hive. Needless to say, he hit the branch, the swarm fell down but his aim was not good because instead landing into the box they landed all over my head, hair and shoulders. I laughed so much that one got into my mouth and stung me on the inside of the cheek, others stung me around the neck and I started to run like mad to my nearby dam to dive into it.
This was the funniest thing that our family, who happened to be out on the lawns that day watching us, had ever seen. Father went running with a head full of bees, dived head first into the dam in the hope that that would get rid of the blighters. I might say that although it was a registered beekeeping activity—I have got an official number and all of my hives have that number burnt on them—the bees did not take much notice of the number, and when I surfaced they came back and re-established themselves in my hair.
Mr Ian Cohen: You must have sinned.
Reverend the Hon. Dr GORDON MOYES: I must have been not a sinner but a good-living person because I survived the stings without any hardship whatsoever.
The Hon. Duncan Gay: You were singed, not a sinner.
Reverend the Hon. Dr GORDON MOYES: Just buzz off, Ian. My son is the person who actually robs the hives and makes the honey. It is a good interest for people with the time to keep a few hives if they have room and water. Unless the bees can take off over the north in a good straight line over water they are unable to do all that they should do. The reforms in this bill strengthen the administrative framework provided for commercial and recreational beekeepers. According to the second reading speech, the amendments are designed to promote responsible beekeeping, something which I promote, enhance compliance with the Apiaries Act, and minimise potential risks to human safety, while still recognising the importance of recreational and commercial beekeeping.
It is reported that the amendments were discussed with key industry and amateur beekeeping representatives, including the New South Wales Apiarists Association and the New South Wales Amateur Beekeepers Association, and support for these amendments followed. The amendments proposed in this bill are many. I will not seek to go through any of them. The Act provides for the registration of beekeepers, which we certainly agree with. The bill introduces provisions to enforce the requirement for all beekeepers to be registered and to display a registration number on their hives. That is a disincentive to some people from stealing hives because they are expensive. This registration system is central to effective beekeeping management.
The bill proposes that inspectors have the power to seize and remove hives not identified with a registration number. That is particularly relevant in cases where hives are left on the roadside, or near public parks and pose a risk to human safety. Provision is also made for the seizure of identified hives on public land, with certain procedures to be followed by inspectors. For example, under the new arrangements, inspectors will have the power to seize and remove such hives, provided that a notice is displayed in the vicinity of the hives for 28 days and also in a local newspaper. A major incentive for registration under the Act is the removal of the requirement for hives to be branded with a registration number. That is expensive because one not only has to brand the outside of the hives but also all of the separate parts inside them with the same number.
The Act has been amended to allow penalty notices to be issued for offences against the Act or the regulations. The web site of the Department of Primary Industries now contains detailed information on beekeeping, and certain beekeeping information is being produced in a variety of languages for non-English speaking beekeepers. In cases where an inspector believes, on reasonable grounds, that the keeping of bees on particular premises is a danger to the public, the bill provides powers for inspectors to seize and remove hives. It has been said that existing provisions in the Act relating to the removal of hives are cumbersome and can potentially place human safety at risk, particularly where a neighbour of a beekeeper has a life-threatening allergy to bee venom.
Amongst other things, the bill proposes that the Director General of the Department of Primary Industries will now keep registration details kept by the office of registrar of beekeepers. The bill also repeals provisions of the Act restricting the introduction of bees into New South Wales. The reason for the repeal of these provisions is to remove unnecessary restrictions on interstate trade. Adequate power is provided to prevent the introduction of diseases from other States or Territories. Minor and incidental amendments are also made to the Apiaries Regulation 2005. This proposed legislation strengthens existing arrangements, improves the management of beekeeping for recreational and commercial beekeepers alike. I commend apiarists in general. They are most hardworking people and make a great contribution not only to the national economy but to the breakfast tables of the nation. On behalf of the Christian Democratic Party, I commend the bill to the House.
