Australia's fire ant invasion problem has moved from concerns about chronic eradication program underfunding to non-compliance of property owners fuelled by Facebook discussion

 

For the last forty-three years that invasive species, the Fire Ant, has been increasing in number and territory until now it infests around 830,000 ha in South East Queensland, close to the Qld-NSW border, and in recent years has been found as far south in New South Wales as Murwillumbah in November 2023 and Wardell, near Ballina, in January 2024.

The Fire Ant infestation program began to move beyond a target of total eradication to one of suppression and containment after the Queensland Newman Coalition Government in 2012 cut 45 jobs from its fire ant eradication program and reduced state funding by 50 per cent to about $1.1 million for the next year.

In an August 2023 media release the Invasive Species Council revealed the existence of government documents that detailed at least a $49 million shortfall in fire ant funding for 2023/24, risking the spread of the super pest across Australia.

"The explosive documents reveal that, due to insufficient funding, eradication and surveillance on the ground in Queensland this year has been cut in half from what is needed.

They also reveal that there will be no systematic action to stop the westward or northern spread of fire ants, with action confined to stopping the spread into NSW."

Mainstream and social media are now reporting espisodes involving non-compliant property owners and "government eradicators".

Non-compliance increases the risk infestations will spread even further across Queenland and deeper into New South Wales.

Quotes from Facebook account "Stop the toxic fire ant poisoning":

• "Pseudoscience, false and misleading information, and complete lies and gaslighting are used to justify their dangerous approach to eradicate fire ants, which many experts publicly state is now impossible."

• "The toxic fire ant eradication program by the Australian Government is killing dogs, cats, cows, horses, bees, birds and many other animals and insects.
  This is how to stop them entering your property..."

It is noted that the two insecticides currently listed as used in the Qld fire ant eradication program are hydramethylnon & pyriproxyfen.  Both products approved by the Australian Pesticides and Veterinary Medicines Authority (APVMA) and commonly found in cockroach baits or flea collars. While in NSW APVMA-approved pyriproxyfen, s-methoprene and fipronil are used, with the latter approved only for direct injection into fire ant nests.

The Daily Telegraph, "Bombshell report reveals fire ants could kill six people a year, cost homes $110m+", 13 October 2024, excerpts:

A notorious pest could cause up to six deaths, lead to 116,000 medical visits and cost households $118m a year if allowed to spread uncontrolled across one Aussie state, a bombshell report has found.

The chilling warning comes as biosecurity authorities scramble to contain the spread of the red imported fire ant, which has rapidly spread across Queensland and even extended down into NSW.

But recent eradication attempts in Queensland are facing a difficult step as landholders – concerned about the ant bait being “toxic” and fearing its impacts on the ecosystem and their livestock – face off with government eradicators.

Some are now refusing entry to treatment officers attempting to spread the bait, which is also found in fly sprays and pet flea tablets.

The ongoing tension has led to police stepping in amid mounting stand-offs with the mandatory treatment program...

Police called in to assist with landowner stand-offs

Treating officers working under the NFAEP are allowed under law to enter Queensland properties for eradication without the consent of owners.

The program still maintains preference to work with landowners to undertake eradication at a time that suits their convenience – informing owners of the planned eradication through letterbox drops, emails, phone calls and texts.

But stand-offs have emerged between some owners and eradication officers who are refused entry.

One Facebook group calling on people to stop the “toxic” program urges landowners to refuse entry, erect signs warning of trespassing and provide a “reasonable excuse” under the Biosecurity Act 2014 to stop entry.

In some posts, landowners are seen confronting eradication staff.

People face hefty fines for obstructing designated officers under Queensland law.

In a statement, Queensland Police confirmed it had been requested to assist some NFAEP staff by “facilitating access to properties where occupants are not compliant with the treatment process”.

“Special duties officers will be allocated to this task, ensuring no impact on the delivery of frontline services,” a police spokeswoman said.

“This collaboration aims to support biosecurity efforts while maintaining essential policing operations.”

For around 43 years the invasive Fire Ant has been expanding its territory on the Australian east coast and the federal & state governments have still not eradicated this dangerous menace - in fact they appear to be losing the battle

Fire Ant (Solenopsis invicta) nests have been surfacing on the Australian east coast from Port of Brisbane, Qld to Port Botany, NSW beginning in February 2001 but are believed to have actually arrived on the Australian east coast up to 20 years earlier, given the initial Port of Brisbane discovery uncovered 470 known colonies spread over 8,300 hectares.

The most recent NSW infestation was found in northern NSW at Wardell, near Ballina, on 19 January 2024.

Approximately 99 per cent of the Australian mainland is vulnerable to this invasive species which according to the National Fire Ant Eradication Program has the capacity to surpass the combined damage done each year by our worst pests: feral cats, wild dogs, foxes, camels, rabbits and cane toads.

Image courtesy of Invasive Species Council under creative commons licence 4.0

On the 18 October 2023, the Fire Ant situation was referred to the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport References Committee for inquiry and report by 18 April 2024.

The 96-page report was published on 13 May 2024 under the title "Red imported fire ants in Australia: Don't Let This Come Back to Bite Us".

The report made ten recommendations which, in diplomatic language, pointed to the fact there is no statutory body overseeing the current eradication plan. 

While the Queensland-focussed 10 year plan itself, now morphed into a broader 5 year plan struggling under the need for expanded expertise, is still significantly underfunded and hampered by past poor execution starting from the federal-states decision making right down to regional level response. With the most notable blunder occurring during the federal Howard Liberal Government years when funding was permanently withdrawn around four years into the original eradication response. This was followed in 2012 by a Qld Newman Liberal Government reduced both funding and staff numbers in that state's fire ant eradication response. Both these events at various points in time have (not without a degree of justification) been blamed for the current failure to either eradicate or contain the spread of fire ants in the eastern half of the country.

So perhaps the following news article should come as no surprise.

ABC News, 18 May 2024:

When Amanda King and her mother Leanne Williams were bitten by fire ants, they were not prepared to become frontline recruits in the federal government's battle with the pest.

The pair were last year bitten multiple times at their Kleinton home, north of Toowoomba, resulting in painful pustules on their legs and arms.

They reported the suspicious nests to the state and federally funded National Fire Ant Eradication Program (NFAEP) in April last year and it took 67 days for a program officer to inspect and subsequently eradicate the pests.

What happened during that time, Ms King said, were repeated requests for them to collect photographic and physical evidence before inspectors would visit their home.

"He basically said, 'No. You need to send photos first,' and then he sent an email with specifications of what to send," Ms King said.

"I rang back and said, 'I can't get photos.'"

What are fire ants and why do they pose such a threat?

There are fears the spread of fires ants could change the outdoor lifestyle Australians know and love.

Ms King, a veterinary nurse who often works 6am to 6pm, said it was difficult to take accurate photos in the dark and that the program was putting too much of the surveillance burden on the public.

"What happens if it's some 70-year-old lady who thinks she has [them]?" she said.

"She's probably not going to have an iPhone that's going to take a proper photo. I think it's unfair for them to do that, so that needs to change."

Her mother agrees....

The ants, which were first detected in 2001 in Brisbane, have spread to south east Queensland and northern New South Wales, with concerns they could enter the Murray-Darling river system after being found at the Oakey Army Aviation Centre in April [78 nests].

Biosecurity zone to be set up

A biosecurity zone will be set up within a 5-kilometre radius of the Oakey base on Monday, placing further legal requirements on those in the zone.

Yesterday, 4 kilometres from Amanda and Leanne's home, fire ants were also officially detected in Meringandan West for the first time.

NFAEP said public help was vital to the program.

"Reports from the public are vital to our national eradication effort and we thank Ms King for her vigilance in notifying us about this sighting," the spokesperson said.

But with 36,945 suspected fire ant reports made since May 2023, and 13,786 of them confirmed as positive, testing is a mammoth task for the governments and departments involved..... [my yellow highlighting]

Read the full article at

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-18/calls-to-better-resource-national-fire-ant-eradication-program/103857306