Committee Details

COMMITTEE REPORT

The committee tabled Report No. 19, 57th Parliament - Nature Conservation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 on 8 April 2022. The Bill was passed on 12 October 2022.

The government response was tabled on 8 July 2022.  The response can be accessed here.

About the Bill 

On 24 February 2022 the Minister for the Environment and the Great Barrier Reef and Minister for Science and Youth Affairs introduced the Nature Conservation and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 2022 into the Queensland Parliament.  The Bill was referred to the State Development and Regional Industries Committee for detailed consideration.   

The objective of the Bill is to allow beekeeping on certain national parks to continue until 2044 by amending the Nature Conservation Act 1992.  This will only apply to areas where beekeeping could be lawfully done before the area became a national park.

The purpose of the Bill is to give more time for the beekeeping industry to find and set up apiaries (sites where honeybee hives are kept) outside national parks.  The beekeeping industry produces honey and bees pollinate crops in the horticultural sector.  The loss of access to apiaries in national parks would impact these goods and services.

Commercial beekeeping however is not consistent with the aims of a national park.  National parks are for preserving an area’s natural condition and would exclude beekeeping activities.  However, finding alternate sites has proven challenging, and new work will be done to assist the beekeeping industry to leave national parks over the coming years.

The Bill proposes to amend the Nature Conservation Act 1992 to allow for the grant of an apiary permit for beekeeping in a national park until 31 December 2044.   

View: Introductory speech 
View: Bill
View: Explanatory Notes
View: Statement of compatibility

Timeline