Access Denied – State Governments force Beekeepers out

Continued and expanded access to public lands has been identified as the number one concern across Australia by Australian professional beekeepers.

Peter McDonald, Chair of the Australian Honey Bee Industry Council (AHBIC) said, ‘Leaders from all states within Australia met in Launceston, Tasmania travelling to discuss sustainable use of floral resources on Australian public lands as part of the AHBIC Resource Access Workshop.

‘While policies in each State don’t always benefit the beekeeping industry, the immediate concern is Queensland.

‘With the expected changes in Queensland through Provision 184 of the Nature Conservation Act 1992, beekeepers in Queensland will be forced out of beekeeping sites. 

The Australian beekeeping industry is concerned that the policy, either deliberately or inadvertently, removes commercial beekeeping industries from public lands in Queensland.

‘The honey bee industry is a vital component of our food production and few people understand that the beekeeping industry provides vital pollination services for global food security.

‘Linked to the effectiveness of pollination services is honey bee health which requires not just access but access to healthy Australian native flora.

‘Well managed multi-use forests involving forestry, beekeeping, and recreation will always deliver the best conservation, economic and social outcomes’, said Peter.

The meeting of Australian beekeeping leaders agreed that there is a need to acknowledge the role of honey bees in global food security and associated benefits to the economy.

Issues identified in the national beekeeping workshop included:

. the lack of access to some land tenures across Australia

. the impact of hot controlled burns by the various agencies (low intensity, mosaic, cool burns practised by our traditional owners was suggested as an option for improvement to current practices)