NZBB Extension on the Backburner

After kicking the tires with beekeepers regarding the possibility of extending New Zealand Bee Health and Biosecurity’s (NZBB) work programme beyond American foulbrood (AFB) and to a role more fitting their new name, the former American foulbrood (AFB) Management Agency has handed the hot-potato to the Minister for Biosecurity.

Addressing the role of NZ Bee Health and Biosecurity is not top of Biosecurity Minister Andrew Hoggard’s work programme he has said.

Where has Minister Andrew Hoggard got to with it? Well, it is perhaps unsurprising that he has bigger fish to fry at present, with the ongoing yellow-legged hornet incursion response in Auckland, plus a Queensland fruit fly find in early January, adding to the workload.

“At the moment I am prioritising our response to the yellow legged-hornet incursion, but I will come back to NZBB in due course,” Hoggard has said in a statement.

“I’d also like to thank beekeeping organisations and beekeepers across the country for their positive engagement and help in the response.”

Beekeeper engagement might be praised in the hornet response, but it was very low to NZBB’s consultation survey in September and October. Only 115 – and just 20 who own more than 250 hives – completed the biosecurity section of the survey, sent out with AFB levy-rate consultation via email to most and post to some. The three questions were intended to gain an understanding of beekeepers’ position on whether NZBB took a wider leadership role on biosecurity to the industry, beyond its current AFB-only mandate.

Hoggard made no comment on the low response rate, but said NZBB has presented him with “several options”.

“I’ve asked my officials to provide me with some advice on a preferred way forward. Whatever that looks like, I will have to be confident the support from the sector is there,” he said.

How that would be achieved, and when, was not elaborated on.