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