Terms of Reference

The following matter be referred 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:

  1. the existing distribution and population density of exotic bumblebees;
  2. productivity and economic benefits of the commercial use of bumblebees for agricultural producers;
  3. the potential environmental impacts associated with the commercial use of bumblebees, including whether their use is likely to:
    1. impact the conservation status of a species or ecological community,
    2. impact biodiversity,
    3. cause unintended ecological impacts, and
    4. contribute to a wider distribution of bumblebees;
  4. the implications for Australia’s biosecurity regime of any approval to use bumblebees in Tasmania for commercial purposes;
  5. the potential economic outcomes;
  6. the effectiveness of alternative pollination options; and
  7. any other related matters.

Committee Secretariat contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Environment and Communications
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600

Phone: +61 2 6277 3526
ec.sen@aph.gov.au