Gold Coast landscaping supply business Marlyn Compost in Tweed court after Northern NSW fire ant breach
A Queensland landscaping supply company has been fined after delivering up to 152 loads of potentially deadly fire ant carrying material across the border to NSW - including to two schools.
Police & Courts
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A Queensland landscaping supply company has been fined after delivering up to 152 loads of potentially deadly fire ant carrying material across the border to NSW - including to two schools.
Andrew Russell, representing Gold Coast-based Marlyn Compost, pleaded guilty in Tweed Heads Local Court on Wednesday to nine counts of failing to comply with mandatory measures.
Marlyn Compost is located on a family farm at Woongoolba, north of Pimpama on the Gold Coast and has been operating for more than 20 years.
Court documents state the company made up to 152 deliveries across the border in a seven-month time frame between 2022 and 2023, which resulted in the detection of fire ants at one of the drop-off sites.
It is not suggested any of the 152 deliveries contained fire ants themselves, but rather fire ant carrying material deemed a risk by both the Queensland and New South Wales Department of Primary Industries.
However, it was heard in court the company “knew their farm had fire ants”.
The outbreak of fire ants in Northern New South Wales, which the NSW DPI and the National Fire Ant Eradication Program are scrambling to control, poses massive risks for business owners, farmers and communities.
Stings can be fatal - even in humans.
The deliveries made by Marlyn Compost were transported to seven New South Wales properties.
The loads included three turf underlay deliveries and one garden soil load to Tweed Heads Public School along with one delivery of turf underlay to Lindisfarne Anglican College in Tweed, court documents state.
Fire ants have since been detected at a Lundberg Dr, Murwillumbah delivery location in November 2023, 15 months after the load was dropped off.
Other locations include Ivory Crescent Tweed Heads, Ozone St Chinderah, Morton St Chinderah, Enterprise Ave South Tweed Heads, Upper Crystal Creek Rd and Boomerang St in Kingscliff.
Court documents state the company director is Rita Russell.
The business was being supervised by the Queensland DPI to ensure they were complying with the state’s regulations before and during the offences took place, documents continue.
“The presence of red imported fire ants has been well-known to Marlyn Compost for many years,” documents state.
There was a lack of oversight as to where specific loads had been transported.
“The left hand has not known what the right hand was doing,” documents state.
Marlyn Compost’s lawyer Geoffrey Gallagher said one of the company operators was illiterate and was not involved in the administration aspects of the business.
“The leader was not informed the loads were going to Northern New South Wales. At the same time, those working in the administration side of the business were not aware of the fire ant risks,” he said.
Mr Gallagher said Andrew Russell notified NSW authorities and halted deliveries when he became aware some loads had gone over the border.
Mr Russell was interviewed by police in February last year and said: “I did not have control of the trucks”.
Mr Gallagher said Mr Russell had contacted the administrating authority’s office to find out what the company obligations were. Mr Russell received “confusing” or “misleading” information leading him to believe the business was following the laws, Mr Gallagher said.
“There was no intention from Marlyn not to comply with the law,” he said.
DPI and Regional Development police prosecutor Lachlan Porteous said the offending occurred over a long time period.
Deliveries were taken to several New South Wales properties resulting in thousands of cubic metres of carrier material, he said.
“Andrew knew there were fire ants on the farm,” he said.
Magistrate Geoff Dunlevy said fire ants carried significant risks.
“Fire ants can impact livestock and native plants and animals. They can be dangerous to humans too,” he said.
“The humans behind the company are genuinely remorseful for what they’ve done. They appear to be good people.”
Mr Dunlevy added the workers had taken steps to avoid future breaches.
“It’s not a very large corporation, the company must be fined to deter this behaviour but not to the extent that the fine would be crushing to the company,” he said.
Marlyn Compost was ordered to pay $21,878.
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