The NSW Nationals have slammed the Minns Government for failing to act as a new mutant, treatment resistant Varroa mite devastates the state’s beekeeping sector.
Shadow Minister for Agriculture Brendan Moylan warned the crisis now threatens food security, regional jobs, and a $12.9 billion national pollination industry.
“The Minns Labor Government’s complacent response has left commercial operators on their knees while hive losses escalate at a pace never before seen in Australia,” Mr Moylan said.
Industry has called on the Minns Labor Government to immediately establish an emergency support package for affected operators, fund urgent treatment access and cost relief, deploy rapid response field teams to assist commercial beekeepers, and to work collaboratively on a short-term stabilisation plan to prevent mass exits.
Mr Moylan said these requests are more than fair given one in three mouthfuls of food depends on bees.
A recent Australian Honey Bee Industry Council survey found 42 per cent of NSW commercial beekeepers plan to exit the industry within two years.
“That should terrify every farmer, every food processor, and every household in NSW,” Mr Moylan said.
“Instead of urgency, all we’re getting from the Minns Labor Government is excuses.”
Industry leaders have confirmed the new strain of Varroa is entirely different from the 2022 incursion, with catastrophic losses already documented. One commercial operator has reportedly lost 1,380 hives in just 12 weeks, an estimated $1.2 million hit.
“This is not a slow burn problem. It’s wiping out hives in weeks. Family operations built over generations are being forced onto the market,” Mr Moylan said.
In response to the 2022 Varroa incursion, the former Coalition Government rolled out a rapid $19 million support package, direct hive compensation, low interest loans, and real help.
