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With the most notable blunder occurring during the federal Howard Liberal Government years when funding was permanently withdrawn around four years into the original eradication response.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

Northern Rivers Feral Deer Alert : Bambi is cute inside a picture book but not so loveable in the bush

 

The Richmond River Times, 7 July 2021

If you live in or are visiting in the Richmond, Tweed, Kyogle or Lismore local government areas – when out driving, bushwalking or working in your own paddocks - and see a deer please contact the local council and report the sighting.

Richmond Valley Council (02) 6660 0300 or email council@richmondvalley.nsw.gov.au

Tweed Shire Council 02 6670 2400

Kyogle Council 02 6670 2400 or email

council@kyogle.nsw.gov.au

Lismore City Council (02) 6625 0500

Locals need to keep an eye out - cane toads are on the march again in the Clarence Valley

 

Clarence Valley Independent, 24 March 2021:

They’re ugly, they’re poisonous, they’re invasive.

And they’re here, in the Clarence Valley.

Since their introduction into Australia 86 years ago, the cane toad has thrived and rapidly expanded its distribution since the first 3000 hopped into the cane fields of North Queensland after being released by the Bureau of Sugar Experiment Stations in an attempt to control the native grey-backed cane beetles which were decimating sugarcane crops and subsequently, impacting the Australian sugar cane industry.

With no natural predators or diseases which affect their population in the country, cane toad numbers exploded at an alarming rate and their presence has had devastating consequences for several native species including the northern quoll and red-bellied black snake, which often mistakes the cane toad for native frogs, only to succumb to their toxins after eating them.

After the first reports of cane toads in the Clarence Valley made headlines when the invasive species was discovered in Yamba in 2003, the recent devastating bushfires around Whiporie and Rappville, north of Grafton, have resulted in the creation of favourable travel routes for the ground-dwelling predator.

With areas of bushland and forestation cleared following the bushfires, cane toads have hopped their way south along the Summerland Way and breeched the southern containment line, the Clarence River, within the past 12 months.

In late 2020, a new population of cane toads was discovered at Mountainview, close to Grafton, when local landholders first became

aware of the recent arrivals after hearing them calling to one another across the paddocks.

A report was made to the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) who alerted local organisation Clarence Landcare to the huge biosecurity risk on their doorstep.

Clarence Landcare Educational Officer Kelly McRae, along with coordinator Debbie Repschlager, attended properties in Mountainview and confirmed the presence of cane toads, prompting them to take evasive action.

Funded and supported by the New South Wales Government through its Environmental Trust, the Clarence Cane Toad Education Project in partnership with the DPI Invasive Species Unit, Clarence Valley Conservation in Action (CVCIA), Clarence Valley Council (CVC), Yaegl Traditional Owners Aboriginal Corporation and Office of Environment and Heritage (OHE) and National Parks and Wildlife Services, aims to raise community awareness of the invasive species and educate Clarence Valley residents of the importance of correctly identifying cane toads and managing their numbers on their properties.

“The number of cane toads is significantly growing in the Clarence Valley, especially considering the wet weather the area is currently experiencing, and we want to get the community actively involved so together, we can help to stop them spreading,” Ms McRae said.

“A lot of people don’t realise cane toads are in the Clarence Valley.

“We’ve had outbreaks at Brooms Head, Shark Creek and Gulmarrad, and it’s really important people become aware of them because they pose a huge biosecurity risk, not only to native animals within the Clarence Valley, but also to the environment and people’s pets as well.”

Utilising their funding, Clarence Landcare is enabling cane toad controllers to be on the ground throughout the Clarence Valley, speaking with community members and liaising with local landholders to encourage people to do their own cane toad control……..

Describing cane toads as quite easy to catch, Ms McRae recommends people use gloves or place their hand inside a plastic bag when picking up cane toads, therefore avoiding contact with the toxin produced by the bulging glands on their shoulders. 

Once caught and secured in the plastic bag, the cane toad can then be placed into the fridge for up to 24 hours before being removed and put into the freezer for 48 hours. 

Ms McRae said the cold temperatures lull the cane toads into a sleep state and therefore, they are humanely euthanised before they can be disposed into the red bin. 

“It’s important that people ensure they are dead prior to being placed into the bin to reduce the risk of them escaping and subsequently, breeding again,” Ms McRae said. 

“Our aim is to stop the cane toads before they damage our local environment and unique ecosystem.

“We all need to work together to prevent them spreading further.”......

Australian Biosecurity: here we go again.....

The Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources from 21.9.15 to 27.10.17 
and from 6.12.17 to 20.12.17 was Nationals MP for New England Barnaby 
Joyce.

The current Agriculture and Water Resources Minister since 20.12.17 is 
Nationals MP for Maranoa David Littleproud, a former banker who has been 
in federal parliament for less than two years.

The Minister for Immigration and Border Protection from 23.12.14 onwards 
and Minister for Home Affairs since 20.12.17 is Liberal MP for Dickson 
Peter Dutton.

These three men between them have brought Australian biosecurity to its 
knees and kept it there.

Funding cuts, staffing cuts and poorly planned reorganisation made sure a 
failing biosecurity system ensued.

The story so far.......

ABC News, 21 February 2017:

Quarantine staff feared three years ago staff cuts would threaten the 
biosecurity of Australia's multi-million-dollar agricultural industries.

The Community and Public Sector Union (CPSU) surveyed 300 of its 
members in 2014 and found two thirds said "Australia's biosecurity 
has become worse or significantly worse over the past decade due 
to declining standards and increasing risks".

The figures have been reviewed as the Queensland Government 
moves to spend about $15 million on south-east prawn farms while 
white spot disease is traced and eradicated.

It is unknown what caused the white spot disease outbreak that has 
shut down the Logan River prawn farms, where prawns with a combined 
value of $25 million have been euthanased, but tests have shown white 
spot on imported frozen prawns from Asia.

This week, the Federal Government issued a recall of all remaining 
frozen imported prawns for testing.

Tight budget puts pressure on capacity

CPSU deputy national secretary Rupert Evans said the clear view of 
members was that budget cuts, the adoption of a risk-based approach, 
and industry self-regulation would lead to more biosecurity incursions.

"Our members would be saddened and even gutted that they might be 
proven right," he said.

The biosecurity approach is based on risk analysis and shared 
responsibility between governments and industry under the 
Intergovernmental Agreement on Biosecurity.

A review of the IGAB found a tight fiscal environment for governments 
had placed significant pressure on biosecurity budgets and their 
capacity to meet biosecurity commitments.

Not enough people on job

The union said it worried about the impact of efficiency measures.

"In 2013-14 there was a more than 10 per cent cut to the budget to 
Department of Agriculture biosecurity, and it was said at the time, this 
was going to lead to not enough people to do the job," Mr Evans said.

"Another part of risk-based intervention is that it needs to be based on 
sound and unbiased evidence, not just on simply reducing costs.

Inspector-General of Biosecurity, Review report no. 2017–18/01, December 
2017, excerpt:

In 2016–17, the major WSD outbreak in Queensland prawn farms led to a 
six-month suspension of uncooked prawn imports into Australia. Very 
high levels of WSSV were found in imported uncooked prawns, destined 
for retail outlets across the country, which had already passed, Australia’s 
border biosecurity controls. This indicated a major failure of Australia’s 
biosecurity system, which was not providing an appropriate level of 
protection.

During this review, I found several deficiencies in the management of the 
biosecurity risk of uncooked prawn imports, with broader implications for 
Australia’s biosecurity risk management more generally. I found that 
specific policy elements and their implementation had sowed the seeds 
of failure many years before, while progressive and cumulative acts, 
omissions and systemic factors at many levels exacerbated the risks over 
time. Many of these failings have been swiftly addressed by the department 
and other stakeholders, but more needs to be done to manage the biosecurity 
risks of prawn imports in the future. I have made recommendations to improve 
this biosecurity risk management framework and its ability to deal with 
ongoing and emerging challenges. Long-term adequate resourcing will be a 
key success factor in this endeavour.

The importation of uncooked prawns and other seafood into Australia will 
continue to pose significant and changing challenges for the department 
and industry. The recent WSD outbreak in Queensland, and the subsequent 
findings of massive importation of WSSV-infected prawns, despite previous 
import requirements intended to keep this virus out, highlight the need for the department to remain vigilant, proactively review and update import requirements and policies, and maintain excellent communication with both government and industry stakeholders. Above all, detecting and deterring deliberate or inadvertent failures to implement biosecurity risk management policies effectively must be a priority. Governments and aquatic industries must cooperate to resource and implement these efforts. Failure to do so will imperil the future development of a sustainable and profitable aquaculture sector in Australia.

ABC News, 2 July 2018:

A highly destructive virus has again been detected in supermarket prawns 
despite tightened import restrictions introduced after a disease outbreak 
decimated south-east Queensland's prawn farming industry.

The shock results come as a Four Corners investigation reveals how some 
ruthless seafood importers have been deliberately evading Australia's 
biosecurity defences in a hunt for profit, exploiting a quarantine regime 
identified as "remarkably naive" in a top-level inquiry.

The revelations raise troubling questions about the nature of Australia's preparedness to combat a slew of exotic diseases and pests that have 
the potential to wreak carnage on the economy.

Brian Jones, former adviser to the Inspector-General of Biosecurity, 
said the incursion of white spot disease in 2016 "won't be the last".

"The Government is not fulfilling its duty to protect the border," he said.

In the face of soaring international trade, scientists, industry executives 
and former government officials have told Four Corners that Australia's 
biosecurity defences have been simply inadequate…..

In a scathing review Mr Jones co-authored, the Inspector-General found the devastating outbreak of white spot was "a major failure of Australia's 
biosecurity system".

Critical to this failure was a policy decision that allowed seafood importers 
to unpack shipping containers into cold stores unsupervised by any 
government officials.

The policy afforded rogue players days and sometimes weeks to disguise 
dodgy consignments from inspectors, including by substituting diseased 
prawns for clean ones.

The Inspector-General found the department had placed "too much trust 
in importers to do the right thing".

"The department demonstrated a remarkable level of naivety about the 
potential for importers to wilfully circumvent import conditions for any 
class of prawns that required viral testing."

The department conceded to Four Corners there were "significant 
shortcomings in its handling of this issue", and insisted it had "taken 
substantial action to address them".

Import conditions were tightened midway through last year after a 
six-month trade suspension was lifted.

As of July 2017, no containers could be opened except by biosecurity 
officers.

Yet the virus — which poses no harm to humans — has reared its head 
again.

In April, Queensland officials identified the virus in the wild, at locations 
in the northern reaches of Moreton Bay.

Then, in late May, the Department of Agriculture quietly released a note 
that said 12 consignments of prawns — stopped at the wharves under 
the new "enhanced" regime — had tested positive for the disease.

Fresh testing reveals white spot

Now, Four Corners can reveal the virus is still getting past the 
department's frontline.

Testing conducted for the program found traces of the virus present in 
30 per cent of prawn samples purchased from a range of supermarket 
outlets in the south-east Queensland area.

The samples were examined by University of the Sunshine Coast 
professor Wayne Knibb, an expert in the genetics of marine animals. 
He tested green prawns from 10 major retail outlets.

"We found about a third of the material that we looked had evidence 
of white spot DNA in it," he said.

Professor Knibb's testing has been independently verified by a separate 
laboratory.

"Clearly, if we can find in a very limited sample 30 per cent of samples 
that were in the history connected or in contact with the virus, then 
clearly we're playing with fire here," he said.

"We have a route of a virus that is a particularly dangerous virus and 
shown worldwide just how destructive it can be. It's damaged whole 
national economies, and it's cost billions of dollars."

ABC TV “Four Corners”, 2 July 2018:

Four Corners has confirmed that supermarket-bought prawns are still 
being used by recreational fishers on the Logan River upstream from 
prawn farms…..

 It has been put to us that some front-line officers working for the 
Department over the past decade have engaged in any or several of 
the following: corrupt conduct including the acceptance of financial 
benefits from importers, and the extortion of some importers in return 
for financial benefits. Is the Department's aware of any cases of this 
nature or similar in the past decade?

All allegations of corruption in this area of our business are referred 
to the Australian Commission for Law Enforcement Integrity (ACLEI). 
We cannot comment on current or ongoing investigations for 
operational security reasons. ACLEI have investigated a number of 
matters involving corrupt conduct of departmental staff and publish 
all results on their website.

The NSW Government’s Latest Attack On The Environment

How important is protection of the natural environment to the NSW Government? 

Many in the community believe that the Government gives it a very low priority.   There are even some who would assert that the NSW Coalition Government is conducting a war on the environment.

Concern about the Government’s environmental attitudes is the inevitable result of a series of its policies and legislation over recent years.  A few examples are its original very strong support for CSG and unconventional gas mining[1], its weakening of land-clearing and biodiversity protection laws[2], its strong support of coal mine expansions despite community opposition[3], and more recently, its plan to change the law to enable Lithgow’s Springvale Mine to stay open despite its threat to Sydney’s water catchment[4].

The latest major threat to the natural environment in NSW is the re-structure of the National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS).  The National Parks and Wildlife Service, a part of the Office of Environment and Heritage,  manages more than 870 national parks and reserves covering over 7 million hectares of land  which is more than 9% of the state’s land area.

The restructure which is currently under way involves the amalgamation of administrative areas, and either the loss of experienced officers or their demotion to what will be little more than clerical roles with substantially reduced salaries.  In addition there are serious concerns about the effect of the changes on fire-fighting capacity as well as on pest management.

The changes resulting from this restructure will have serious effects throughout the state.

Grafton on the NSW North Coast, for years an administrative centre for NPWS, will lose that function. Despite Grafton’s location in the geographical centre of the new region, the administrative headquarters is being transferred to Coffs Harbour. 

Clarence Valley locals, having seen over recent years the steady transfer of state government jobs from Grafton to Coffs Harbour, are angry about this.  What makes this decision even more nonsensical to some Clarence residents is that the Clarence Valley LGA (Local Government Area) contains one of the biggest areas of national parks on the North Coast.  Clarence Valley Mayor, Cr Jim Simmons, pointed out recently that the Clarence had 2,262 sq km of national parks, 22% of the Council area, while Coffs Harbour, has only 42 sq km – a mere 4% of the Coffs council area.

While there is concern about job losses, the loss of expertise in the Service and the impact of this drawn-out and unfair process on the Service officers, there is another major concern – the long-term effect on our very important national parks estate.  Despite the claims by politicians, including the Nationals Member for Clarence, Chris Gulaptis, this is a cost-cutting exercise at a time when the Government has boasted about a record budget surplus of $4.5 billion.  Any claim that it is not cost-cutting when the NPWS budget has been reduced by $121 million is obviously ludicrous.

However, it is probably more than just a cost-cutting exercise.  It is almost certain that it is at least partly driven by the ideology of the Coalition Government a core part of which, according to John Menadue[5], is commercializing and privatising public assets.

With reference to this, Menadue said: “A clear case at the moment is the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service. It is being deliberately underfunded and forced to seek private funding and promoting commercial access to public parks.

“Yet this is happening when, with growing population density, we have a greatly increased need for public parks, gardens and open space. Furthermore, we were able to fund our public parks for decades in the past when we were much poorer than we are today. We need to protect our parks more than ever and we have more money to do so. Yet state governments are screwing national parks with funds to force commercialization and privatization.”

In the same post Menadue quoted figures from John Benson about the downgrading of the NPWS[6]. “The number of rangers has been reduced by more than 90 over seven years. Only two of 14 regional managers have been appointed after a restructure and a similar threat faces critical staff at the area management level. Staff is so reduced in some regions that basic amenities cannot be maintained and a lack of field staff presence disappoints public visitor expectations.”

Despite all the spin from politicians and bureaucrats, it is obvious that the government intends to downgrade our national parks and is setting up the National Parks and Wildlife Service for failure. If the community, including that in our local area, does not protest vehemently enough, we will be stuck with this vandalism until this arrogant government is removed.

Hildegard

Northern Rivers

Footnotes

[1] In particular for Metgasco in the Northern Rivers – until the very strong community opposition forced a buy-back of the Metgasco licence.

[2] The 2016 Biodiversity Conservation Act and Local Land Services Amendment Act. There are strong concerns that this legislation will lead to huge biodiversity loss and allow broadscale land clearing.

[3] http://www.smh.com.au/comment/the-case-of-bulga-village-is-part-of-a-broader-pattern-thats-hurting-nsw-20160524-gp298e.html

[4] http://www.smh.com.au/environment/nsw-bids-to-skirt-courts-coal-mine-ruling-by-weakening-laws-protecting-sydneys-water-20171008-gywt0o.html

[5]John Menadue’s blog -  https://johnmenadue.com/john-menadue-the-new-squatters-in-our-national-parks/

[6] John Benson’s post on Menadue’s blog - https://johnmenadue.com/john-benson-biodiversity-is-threatened-in-new-south-wales/  provides an interesting view of the former world class quality of the NSW national parks estate and its current decline.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

GuestSpeak is a feature of North Coast Voices allowing Northern Rivers residents to make satirical or serious comment on issues that concern them. Posts of 250-300 words or less can be submitted to ncvguestspeak AT gmail.com.au for consideration. Longer posts will be considered on topical subjects.

Clarence Valley Council is not above mindless arboreal vandalism

There are so many noxious weed-classified camphor laurel trees dotted over the Clarence Valley floodplain between Grafton and the sea that local government has studiously ignored the problem of their systematic removal for many decades.

Yet for some reason this particular set of councillors are fixated on four 100 year-old camphor laurels that provide the only real green shade for residents and tourists alike in the main street of the small town of Maclean.

The reason why the multitude of camphor trees in paddocks and along waterways are ignored has always been a puzzle, however these councillors see no inconsistency in their apparent indifference to one group of trees and their zealous dislike of another.

The Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May 2016, p. 17:

We, in our small town of Maclean, have been fighting for years to keep the four, century-old, iconic camphor laurels that line our main street, in our only riverside park, and are about to lose the battle. Yes, we know they are "weeds". The council has ignored all pleas, including a petition signed by 1500 people, and are using the weeds argument to implement its plans. If these were the last four in NSW and Queensland, I would, as an environmentalist, fell them myself. But these beautiful, huge, living things are much loved by our community and have been for decades. Maclean's soul is at risk too.

Nicki Holmes

Maclean

The Lower Clarence Cane Toad Outlier - coming to a venue near you!

Cane Toad photo found at news.com.au

EARTH MATTERS

Monday 16^th May  

The Lower Clarence Cane Toad Outlier - coming to a venue near you!

For over 20 years the small pocket of toads in the lower Clarence has been a source of frustration for many. Many people in Yamba and surrounds are resigned to sharing their properties with toads for the rest of their days. With some of the nation’s most significant wetlands only a few hops away there are a lot of reasons to contain this pest population.  

Nigel Blake who is employed by North Coast Local Land Services will chat about the ongoing toad busting challenge from his perspective as a government employee and fan of the swamps.

You’ll hear about the stories of those involved in the mission to keep the toads out of the homes, National Parks and high ecological value wetlands of the Clarence Floodplain- see the latest weapons, marvel at the haul of toads collected by volunteers and our local contractor, and take part in a brain storm on how to get more troops on the ground to tackle this menace. 

The presentation will be held in the Staffroom at Grafton Public School, Queen Street, Grafton from  

5.30 – 7 p.m.

There will be ample opportunity for questions and discussion.

Refreshments will follow.

For further information, contact Stan Mussared on 66449309

Organised by the

CLARENCE VALLEY CONSERVATION COALITION INC

Po Box 1015 Grafton NSW 2460

and the

CLARENCE ENVIRONMENT CENTRE

Skinner Street South Grafton NSW 2460