Farmers, politicians raise alarm as ‘super pest’ fire ants continue to advance south toward northern NSW
Farmers and politicians are sounding the alarm as “super pest” invasive fire ants advance toward NSW from Queensland, often hitching a ride in soil, mulch and other materials.
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Farmers and politicians are sounding the alarm as “super pest” fire ants advance toward NSW from Queensland, often hitching a ride in soil, mulch and other materials.
State Tweed MP Geoff Provest said he believes the ants will surpass cane toads as one of the most significant pests in NSW unless more is combat the spread of the dangerous insects.
Invasive Species Council spokesman Reece Pianta agrees and previously said: “A fire ant invasion across Australia will be worse than the cane toad.”
The ants have caused problems as they move south on the Gold Coast, even prompting fears beaches and other public areas could end up closed.
Tweed Cane Growers Association president Robert Hawken said the aggressive stinging ants posed a risk to farmers, their crops and machinery.
“Fire ants have no natural predators in Australia and their population is rapidly expanding,” he said.
Mr Hawken said the ants eat seeds, tunnel through roots and stems of crops and damage irrigation systems.
“NSW needs to do a much better job than their Queensland counterparts in controlling the spread of this very invasive and dangerous pest,” he said.
Mr Provest said he believed many people are not aware of what a fire ant even is, or comprehend the damage they could cause.
He has joined a push for more money for The National Fire Ant Eradication Program, which is funded by the state and federal governments.
Its aim is to “eradicate” the pests to “protect our Australian lifestyle”.
“Fire ants could devastate our environment, economy and outdoor way of life we know and love,” the program website states.
Mr Provest said more education is required.
“A lot of people here in the Tweed will cross the border and go to nurseries and buy soil and different things unaware they could be importing these damn things,” he said.
“Queensland has had them for 20 years and they keep spreading south.”
Mr Provest said the ants have the potential to spread throughout NSW.
“Unless you spend a fair bit of money right now these things are going to be five times as bad a cane toads,” he warned.
Organic farmers on the Tweed are “horrified” they may end up being forced to use pesticides to protect crops, stripping them of their beneficial organic accreditation.
The Invasive Species Council said on Monday government documents showed at least a $49 million shortfall in fire ant funding for 2023/24, “risking the spread of the super pest across Australia”, but that has been disputed by federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt and Queensland Agriculture Minister Mark Furner.
Mr Pianta said the window to stop the ants taking over Australia was rapidly closing.
“But instead of the urgent funding boost needed, we have more dithering and delay from the federal government. This is risking failure,” he said.
“Fire ants are one of the world’s worst super pests and, if they are allowed to spread across the continent, their impact will be greater than cane toads, rabbits, and foxes combined.”
Mr Provest said: “We’ve got to make people aware of it – it’s pretty dire.”
NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said he was concerned after an outbreak was discovered just 5.5km from the NSW border.
“NSW is at extreme risk of being invaded with the distance now close enough for a single queen red fire ant to fly across the border and start an infestation here,” he said.
Mr Watt and Mr Furner said authorities were “100 per cent committed” to eradication.
“In fact, at the Agriculture Ministers’ Meeting last month, ministers agreed to bring forward all of the remaining future years’ funding in the Red Imported Fire Ant 10-year Eradication Plan to this year, so that we could maintain the momentum in stopping the spread of fire ants in the next nine months,” a joint statement read.
“This means this year’s funding is now four times larger than was originally planned.
“The 10-year, $400 million eradication plan was agreed by all states and territories in 2017.
“Ministers confirmed their commitment to eradication, and will now go back through their own individual budget processes to seek ongoing funding for a new response plan beyond July 2024.”
The ministers said the funding was enabling the program to “operate on a greater scale” and establish containment zones.
“Make no mistake, this is a world leading program which has successfully limited the spread of fire ants – and it’s based on expert scientific advice from the very best minds in this field,” the politicians said.
It’s understood the spread of fire ants over the last decade has been relatively minimal compared to countries like the USA and China, where the ants have spread tens of kilometres annually.
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