Their stingscan be fatal to those who have severe allergic reactions,can kill pets and native wildlife,and have the potential to impact agriculture and native ecosystems.
The detection in NSW triggers the National Fire Ant Eradication Program response,which is part of the $600 million eradication plan.
The plan is funded by the Commonwealth and state and territory governments based on population.
But Invasive Species Council Advocacy Manager Jack Gough said the program faced a $140 million shortfall with some states,including Western Australia,South Australia and Victoria,yet to commit funding.
“We have very limited confidence that the amount of money put into the eradication program will be enough to achieve[its goals]. The scale of work has just increased because of the NSW outbreak,but also inflation has driven labour and material costs significantly,so it’s threatening the viability of the current program,” he said.
“This is very,very serious. Every time the program or funding is put off,the ants expand their range.”
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The Minns government committed to its $95 million portion earlier this year,while Queensland has also announced $61 million for its share of funding.
Earlier this year a queen fire ant was detected in Victoria on a freight pallet from Queensland,while in June,community sports fields on the Gold Coast were forced to close due to the outbreak.
The eradication plan involves placing a 10-kilometre ring of chemical baits around the outbreak six times over two years.
“Governments need to be proactive and take this seriously because the cost of failure is so much higher than the cost of eradication,” Gough said.
Leader of the NSW Nationals and Shadow Minster for Agriculture David Littleproud reiterated the need for urgent action.
“Unfortunately,what we’ve seen from the state and federal governments so far is a complete lack of urgency,and it’s taken the detection of these ants in NSW to trigger an eradication response,” he said,calling for a clear eradication plan to be implemented.
“What we have now is a case of too little too late,and NSW will now have to deal with the consequences.”
A spokesperson for Biosecurity Queensland stressed Australia’s National Fire Ant Eradication Program was the most successful of its kind in the world and had managed previous invasions.
“The program understands the confronting nature of the first detection of fire ants in northern NSW but urges the community and relevant agencies to work together to ensure they are eradicated,” the spokesperson said.
A more detailed containment and eradication plan for Murwillumbah will be released in the coming days.
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