Battle to protect Qld from exploding fire ant infestations

The federal government is being urged to boost funding to eradicate fire ants across the state, as the true and devastating impact the pests could have on Queensland is revealed.

Fire ants could have a devastating impact on Queensland.

A desperate bid to trace the source of a fire ant outbreak at a Central Queensland coal mine is underway at a research laboratory, as control officers race to protect the integrity of the South East Queensland eradication zone.

Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett has urged the federal government to boost funding for eradication efforts, warning the Australian lifestyle is at risk if outbreaks continue to spread.

“If we lose this battle, it’s not just primary industries that’s at risk,” Mr Perrett said.

“It’s our everyday understanding of a good life here in Queensland, like sporting fields, like parks. Even our building codes will need to change.

“We’re taking this matter seriously, but we need further help from the federal government.”

An outbreak was reported last Friday at a coal mine 150km west of Mackay, prompting departmental staff to immediately move in and destroy the ants.

Mr Perrett said the nests had been destroyed, but control officers would remain on site and work with the mining company to determine how long the fire ants had been present.

“Our research lab is currently just establishing the genetic and genomic makeup of these ants, just to establish where they’ve come from, presumably out of South East Queensland,” he said.

Mr Perrett said he was “undaunted” by the challenge of keeping fire ants contained within South East Queensland, adding the state government had injected an additional $24 million into eradication efforts.

But he said the federal government needed to be more proactive in tackling infestations within the existing fire ant zone.

The outbreak sparked anger from Invasive Species Council chief executive Jack Gough, who said the federal government and other jurisdictions had failed to treat the issue with the seriousness it deserved.

He said infestations in southern Brisbane suburbs such as Logan were comparable to spreads in Texas, yet funding only targeted the fringes of the ant zone.

It meant ants within the zone would eventually spread by vehicle to other parts of Australia, including Perth.

“I’m sick to death of them (governments) being nice to us behind the scenes and then not getting it done,” Mr Gough said.

Originally published as Battle to protect Qld from exploding fire ant infestations