$268m federal funding boost to keep fire ant danger contained

Australia’s battle plan against fire ants will receive a desperately needed $268m funding boost from the federal government.

Australia’s battle plan against a destructive super pest will receive a desperately needed $268m funding boost from the federal government.

But it’s unlikely to be enough to eradicate fire ants based on estimates outlined by recent reviews and reports.

The extra cash for Australia’s National Fire Ant Eradicaton program, run out of Queensland, comes ahead of Treasurer Jim Chalmers’ mid-year budget review.

According to the federal government the funds will help intensify activities to control and contain fire ants, with Agriculture Minister Murray Watt saying the investment was proof of the federal government’s “strong commitment” to eradicate fire ants.

Fire ants are dark reddish-brown with a darker black-brown abdomen and are from two to six millimetres long. Residents and businesses should report any sign of fire ants to the NSW DPI on 1800 680 244

The industry-decimating super pest is at risk of breaching Queensland’s containment walls and spreading uncontrollably across the country in a major threat to backyards and the agriculture sector.

A recent review of the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication program warned all hopes would be “lost forever” if the pest – now just 5.5km away – jumped the Queensland border into New South Wales.

It called for Commonwealth, Queensland and other state authorities to collectively stump up $300m a year under their preferred option to wipe out the ant by 2032.

A Queensland Auditor General report released in July outlined how Biosecurity Queensland believed $593m would be needed over four years from 2023, or $148.5m a year, to implement a new eradication strategy.

Agriculture ministers, at a July meeting in Perth, agreed in principle to a new four-year fire ant strategy, starting with $133m this financial year to ring-fence the entire infested area for treatment and surveillance.

The federal government’s latest injection of funds covers its portion of this deal, with Senator Watt adding it “sets the stage for all states and territories to deliver their share”.

New South Wales and Queensland have forked out their share.

The $268m a year, or $67m annually, will go toward expanding the program by 350 new workers, building a new depot, buying new vehicles and signing new aerial eradication contracts.

It will help buy 1400 tonnes of bait a year and allow the treatment and surveillance area to be doubled.

Federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Martin Ollman

Mr Chalmers said the eradication program was the “best chance” to get rid of the ants.

“If they aren’t eliminated, these ants will quickly migrate across the country and that would cause economic, health and social impacts in excess of $1.25 billion annually, forever,” he said.

Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner said a “nationally co-ordinated and decisive response is our best opportunity to eradicate this insidious pest”.

The Red Imported Fire Ant, native to South America, was first detected in Queensland in 2001.

Fire ants are between 2mm to 6mm in length and copper brown in colour with a darker abdomen. Nests appear as mounds or patches of loose soil, though there are no obvious entry or exit holes.