Dire warning that fire ants could cause ‘catastrophe’ for Gold Coast tourism industry

A dire warning has been issue that the Gold Coast’s tourism industry faces disaster unless a rapidly growing threat is dealt with.

The Gold Coast’s tourism industry faces “catastrophe” unless the march of fire ants is halted, the state Opposition has warned.

Beaches could be closed if the dreaded pests – which have recently been found at The Spit, the Broadwater Parklands and Pizzey Park – make their way to the sand, where they are harder to eliminate.

Speaking on a visit to a nursery in Wongawallan which spends $30,000 a year to keep the ants away, Shadow Minister for Agriculture Tony Perrett said the Gold Coast’s tourism industry faced devastation if the problem was not solved.

“We’re seeing a relentless march of these ants south and to the west, and with that comes extreme amount of risk to businesses, to local amenity, to back yards, to school yards, to local parks. And worse still, to the tourism industry,” Mr Perrett said.

“If these ants aren’t turned back, and pushed back into the containment zone and then eventually eradicated, the effect on tourism here on the Gold Coast will be catastrophic. I can’t overemphasise that.”

Member for Theodore Mark Boothman, Spectrum Plants owner Wesley Trevor, Shadow Minister for Agriculture Tony Perrett and Shadow Treasurer David Janetzki at Spectrum Plants in Wongawallan.

Member for Theodore Mark Boothman said the spread of the ants was already having an effect on local businesses, but matters risked getting considerably worse.

“The Gold Coast is built on tourism. If we get those fire ants on our beaches, there goes our tourism. It’s going to destroy the Gold Coast’s iconic beaches, because tourists will stay away,’ Mr Boothman said.

“We need action on a plan to deal with this problem. We need to draw a line in the soil right now.”

Agriculture Minister Mark Furner recently told the Bulletin government’s eradication program was “the most successful anywhere in the world”, but a “whole of community” approach was needed to deal with the pests.

“No other place in the world has contained fire ants as successfully as this program has done it here. It is a world leader,” he said.

Signs at the Broadwater Parklands after fire ants were discovered. Picture: Glenn Hampson.

However Mr Perrett said Minister Furner had “failed” to deal with the problem.

“Given that we’ve got to a situation now where the government has been unable to check their movement in Queensland I’m seriously concerned about the impact it’s going to have on not only this (Gold Coast) economy, but the Queensland and Federal economy,” he said.

The spread of the ants has also set off a firestorm between the state government and council.

“The State’s program is failing and now causing a risk to our way of life,” Southport councillor Brooke Patterson said on June 10.

Fire ants have been spreading through the Gold Coast.

However speaking in Coomera on Thursday, Housing Minister and Gaven MP Meaghan Scanlon dismissed comments made by Cr Patterson.

“We have a comprehensive fire ants management program. We work with the federal govt and we’re working with council,” Ms Scanlon said.

“Some of the comments made by (councillor Patterson) around fire ants recently are incorrect.

“We are working with the council and we are doing some investigations right now around a particular park where there may have been some disturbances to see whether that has actually caused the problems that we are experiencing.”

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