Risks and Opportunities Associated with the Use of the Bumblebee Population in Tasmania for Commercial Pollination Purposes
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The Senate Environment and Communications References Committee Risks and opportunities associated with the use of the bumblebee population in Tasmania for commercial pollination purposes June 2017 © Commonwealth of Australia 2017 ISBN: 978-1-76010-587-7 Committee contact details PO Box 6100 Parliament House Canberra ACT 2600 Tel: 02 6277 3526 Fax: 02 6277 5818 Email: [email protected] Internet: www.aph.gov.au/senate_ec This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License. The details of this licence are available on the Creative Commons website: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/. This document was printed by the Senate Printing Unit, Parliament House, Canberra Committee membership Committee members in the 45th Parliament Senator Peter Whish-Wilson, Chair (from 7 February 2017) AG, TAS Senator Linda Reynolds CSC, Deputy Chair (from 15 February 2017) LP, WA Senator Anthony Chisholm ALP, QLD Senator Sam Dastyari ALP, NSW Senator Jonathon Duniam LP, TAS Senator Anne Urquhart ALP, TAS Former members Senator David Bushby (to 5 December 2016) LP, TAS Senator James Paterson (5 December 2016 to 15 February 2017) LP, VIC Senator Larissa Waters (to 7 February 2017) AG, QLD Committee members in the 44th Parliament Senator Anne Urquhart, Chair ALP, TAS Senator Linda Reynolds CSC, Deputy Chair (from 12 October 2015) LP, WA Senator the Hon Anne Ruston, Deputy Chair (to 12 October 2015) LP, SA Senator Chris Back (from 12 October 2015) LP, WA Senator Joe Bullock (to 13 April 2016) ALP, WA Senator Anne McEwen (from 18 April 2016) ALP, SA Senator the Hon James McGrath (to 12 October 2015) LP, QLD Senator the Hon Lisa Singh ALP, TAS Senator Larissa Waters AG, QLD Substitute member for this inquiry during the 44th Parliament Senator Nick McKim (AG, TAS) for Senator Larissa Waters (AG, QLD) from 3 March 2016 Committee secretariat Ms Christine McDonald, Committee Secretary Ms Brigid Simpson, Senior Research Officer Ms Michelle Macarthur-King, Administration Officer iii iv Table of contents Committee membership ................................................................................... iii Recommendations .............................................................................................vii Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................... 1 Conduct of the inquiry ............................................................................................ 2 Acknowledgement .................................................................................................. 2 References .............................................................................................................. 2 Background ............................................................................................................. 3 Chapter 2: Support for the commercial use of bumblebees ......................... 11 Potential productivity and economic benefits ...................................................... 11 Other possible benefits ......................................................................................... 18 Need for further research ...................................................................................... 21 Chapter 3: Potential risks arising from the commercial use of bumblebees ........................................................................................................ 23 Environmental risks .............................................................................................. 23 Biosecurity risks ................................................................................................... 30 Risks to primary industries ................................................................................... 36 Alternative pollination options ............................................................................. 39 Conclusion ............................................................................................................ 41 Appendix 1: Submissions and additional information .................................. 45 Appendix 2: Public hearings ............................................................................ 47 v vi Recommendations Recommendation 1 3.93 The committee recommends that the Commonwealth introduce amendments to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 to amend the live import list to allow for the use of existing feral populations and that the proposed amendments be referred to the Environment and Communications Legislation Committee for inquiry and report. Recommendation 2 3.94 The committee recommends that any proposed amendment of the live import list to allow the use of existing feral populations provide for a review mechanism after two years of operation. The committee further recommends that, should any adverse environmental impacts be identified in the review, the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 be amended to omit Part 3 of the live import list. Recommendation 3 3.95 The committee recommends that the Commonwealth Government work with state governments to fund further research into the use of native bees as pollinators. vii viii Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 On 2 February 2016, the Senate referred the following matter to the Environment and Communications References Committee for inquiry and report by 22 June 2016: The risks and opportunities associated with the use of the bumblebee population in Tasmania for commercial pollination purposes, including: (a) the existing distribution and population density of exotic bumblebees; (b) productivity and economic benefits of the commercial use of bumblebees for agricultural producers; (c) the potential environmental impacts associated with the commercial use of bumblebees, including whether their use is likely to: i. impact the conservation status of a species or ecological community, ii. impact biodiversity, iii. cause unintended ecological impacts, and iv. contribute to a wider distribution of bumblebees; (d) the implications for Australia's biosecurity regime of any approval to use bumblebees in Tasmania for commercial purposes; (e) the potential economic outcomes; (f) the effectiveness of alternative pollination options; and (g) any other related matters.1 1.2 On 9 May 2016, the Senate and the House of Representatives were dissolved for a general election on 2 July 2016. As a result of the dissolution of the Senate for the election, the committee ceased to exist and the inquiry lapsed. 1.3 The 45th Parliament commenced on 30 August 2016 and members of this committee were appointed on 1 September 2016. On 13 September 2016, the Senate agreed to the committee's recommendation that this inquiry be re-adopted with a reporting date of the second last sitting day in February 2017.2 The Senate also agreed to the recommendation that the committee have the power to consider and use the records of the Environment and Communications References Committee appointed in the previous parliament that related to this inquiry. The reporting date for the inquiry 3 was subsequently extended to 13 June 2017. 1 Journals of the Senate, No. 135, 2 February 2016, p. 3663. 2 Journals of the Senate, No. 5, 13 September 2016, p. 177. 3 Journals of the Senate, No. 28, 14 February 2017, p. 945. 2 Conduct of the inquiry 1.4 As noted above, the inquiry spans two parliaments—the 44th and 45th—with the conduct of the inquiry interrupted by the dissolution of the Senate prior to the 2016 general election. Progress during the 44th Parliament 1.5 In accordance with its usual practice, the committee appointed in the previous parliament advertised the inquiry on its website. The committee also wrote to relevant organisations and individuals inviting submissions. The committee received 22 submissions which are listed at Appendix 1. The committee also received nine form letters. Progress during the 45th Parliament 1.6 Following the re-adoption of the inquiry on 13 September 2016, the committee resolved not to call for new submissions but to refer to the evidence received during the 44th Parliament. 1.7 The committee held public hearings in Hobart on 21 February 2017 and in Canberra on 29 March 2017. The witnesses who appeared at the hearings are available in Appendix 2. Acknowledgement 1.8 The committee thanks all of the individuals, organisations and government departments which made submissions to the inquiry and gave evidence at the public hearings. References 1.9 In this report, the name 'bumblebee' refers to Bombus terrestris which is commonly known as the Large Earth Bumblebee or Buff-Tailed Bumblebee. In addition, in July 2016, the Department of the Environment became the Department of the Environment and Energy. References in this report may be made to the department's former name. Background 1.10 The following discussion provides an overview of the bumblebee population in Tasmania and the relevant provisions of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). 3 Bumblebee population in Tasmania 1.11 There are no native species of bumblebees in Australia.4 Bombus terrestris is native to Europe and was accidentally or illegally introduced in Hobart in the early 1990s. The Department of the Environment and Energy referred to studies which show the Tasmanian population originated from the South Island of New Zealand and appears to have been established from as few as two queens.5 1.12 Bumblebees were first observed in Hobart