> The 8000
> unregistered hives reported lately means to me that the gov't
> of NZ is not a big
> part of many beekeepers lives, and so I assume that they will
> make their own
> decisions about moving as they usually have.

Interestingly, in this 'deregulated environment', it isn't the government
alone that is responsible for this.  Our industry's Pest Management Strategy
for AFB places the legal onus on beekeepers to register apiary sites.
Failure to do so means the loss of Approved Beekeeper status, which means a
considerable $ savings for most beekeepers.  You can find out more about
this at http://www.beekeeping.co.nz/pms

I guess you could still say it is a 'government thing' in the sense that it
is the law, it is a regulation.  But in the case of NZ beekeepers, the law
is there because the industry asked for it to be so.  And, for the greatest
part, we choose to comply with 'our' law...