Maitland farmers are adamant the state government isn't taking their pollination plight seriously after repeated requests for a meeting with NSW Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders.
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Earlier this week The NSW Department of Primary Industries invited registered beekeepers, landholders and vegetable growers to a one hour varroa mite industry briefing, which will be held on Friday in East Maitland at 2.30pm.
Minister Saunders will attend the briefing via Zoom.
Minister Saunder's office extended the invitation to Maitland farmers' representative - Slow Food Earth Market Maitland chairwoman Amorelle Dempster - who has been pushing for answers since early September.
Ms Dempster said farmers had not asked for an industry briefing.
"We wanted a direct audience with the Minister so we could put our questions to him and hear his response," she said.
"It's like the politicians don't care, it's like they think this is a micro area and we just have to cop it."
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A spokeswoman for Minister Saunders said the NSW DPI had distributed 60 invitations and anyone who hadn't been invited could register to attend.
She said the meeting was targeting the Maitland and Upper Hunter regions, which are within the varroa mite emergency zones.
Maitland farmers say the slaughter of honey bees in their area has left their future uncertain. Many crops rely on bees for pollination to produce a harvest.
Ms Dempster complained to Minister Saunders' office on Wednesday and was later told the event would be a roundtable discussion, instead of an industry briefing. The invitation remained unchanged on Thursday.
"These people are paid by the public purse but our farmers are about to lose their income," she said.
"What happens when local people don't have access to local food because the state government hasn't taken care of our farmers."
The briefing will provide an update on the current situation and the response process. Click here to register.
Belinda-Jane Davis
Passionate about community news
Passionate about community news
