Fire ants have breached containment zones in south-east Queensland six times in the past six weeks, triggering the expansion of biosecurity controls at the New South Wales border.
The imported red fire ants – considered one of the world’s worst invasive species – were detected at a site at Tallebudgera last week, about 5.5km from the NSW border. The find was the farthest south the pest has been detected in Queensland.
The march of the species towards the border comes amid calls for an aggressive pivot – and much more funding – to ensure the success of a faltering eradication program.
The discovery at Tallebudgera automatically triggered a NSW biosecurity control order – enacted in February – that bans or restricts the movement of certain materials from within 5km of any site where red imported fire ants have been detected.
Soil, mulch, baled hay, turf and other materials cannot be moved across the NSW border from an “infested area” without inspection and certification. Under that order, most major motorway border crossings are now within controlled areas.
The NSW agriculture minister, Tara Moriarty, said it was important to keep NSW free from this invasive and aggressive pest. She said if it became established it would “have a huge impact on the way we live our lives and could affect our export markets and ability to trade”.
The ants swarm aggressively and inflict a sting that can itch and burn for an hour. In rare cases, people have died from allergic reactions.
The Invasive Species Council has warned that fire ants will inevitably cross the border, and may become established as they have in parts of the US.
Reece Pianta from the Invasive Species Council said on Sunday that fire ants had now breached containment six times in six weeks. Those include detections to the west of the Great Dividing Range for the first time, at Kleinton near Toowoomba, in the Moreton Bay area north of Brisbane, and on the Gold Coast.
“The current eradication program is underfunded and this is leading to fire ants regularly breaching containment,” Pianta said.
The Invasive Species Council welcomed the NSW move to enact movement controls around the Tallebudgera site, but warned that it would only “buy some time” before fire ants spread farther south.
A strategic review of Australia’s efforts to control an outbreak of red fire ants warned almost two years ago that an “urgent change of strategy” was needed to prevent uncontrolled spread of the species.
The review uses the word “urgent” 18 times. But since receiving the 2021 report, authorities have not yet publicly committed to a pivot in strategy, or to one of three options the reviewers set out for an intergovernmental steering committee.
The recommended option is to spend up to $300m a year to eradicate the outbreak of red fire ants before the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
Funding remains well short of that amount, amid apparent disagreement between state agriculture ministers about the best approach.
Australia’s agriculture ministers said they would “continue working on a new proposal” after a joint meeting this month. Some states have agreed to bring forward funding to “keep up momentum” but Pianta said the amount still falls well short of what is required.
“We urgently need the federal, state and territory governments to stop mucking around and get on with the ramp-up of the eradication program,” he said.
“There are no excuses for further delay, underfunding and inaction.”
