Federal Nationals Leader and Shadow Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said the discovery of fire ants at Wardell, south of Ballina, is another sign Labor has lost control of eradicating the pest.
Mr Littleproud said he warned many times last year that Labor’s federal funding of $268 million over four years to eradicate fire ants risked not being enough, and the latest discovery should trigger an urgent review of fire ant eradication funding.
“The whole country has been put at risk of fire ants because Labor was too slow to act,” Mr Littleproud said.
“Ballina is one of the most popular tourism areas in the country. It’s no small issue that this slice of paradise risks having its tourism title destroyed by fire ants if Labor doesn’t get on top of this.
“The Response Plan in July said $592 million was required over the next four years to control the pest, including immediate funding for 2023-24.
“The National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program strategic review also estimated that at least $200 to $300 million per year was required. Labor’s funding was needed urgently last year, which put the time-critical response at risk.
“It has been obvious for some time the funding was not going to be enough. The lack of action and the delays in funding undermined previous work that had been done under The Nationals in government to control fire ants.”
Mr Littleproud said it took The Nationals to call for a Senate inquiry into the matter for Labor to finally act, but that was still too little, too late.
“The Invasive Species Council warned red imported fire ants were at risk of spreading beyond current containment zones and that parks, school playgrounds and beaches have been closing over summer due to fire ants.
“The Commonwealth should have been showing leadership on this issue but continued to drag the chain. Agriculture Minister Murray Watt is nowhere to be seen on this.
“The Nationals have long been warning the spread of fire ants will cost our economy $2 billion annually and there could be more than 140,000 extra medical visits every year.
“Fire ants could also devastate wildlife and cut agricultural output by up to 40 per cent.
“Labor and Minister Watt must now explain how they allowed red imported fire ants to spread to Ballina and immediately detail their plan to control the New South Wales invasion.
NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said the Minns Labor Government has had multiple opportunities to protect NSW from this harmful super pest, but has failed at every hurdle.
“Back in August, I called on Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty to do more to stop the ants from crossing the border. At that time, they were just 5.5km away but those warnings were ignored.
“In November, the ants made their way into NSW with nests found at South Murwillumbah. I again called for a substantial response, but again those warnings were ignored.
“Now we have a new infestation 85 km south of the Queensland border and a situation where the ants are creating rafts and traveling through floodwaters – and we are still yet to see an adequate response.”
Mr Saunders has called on the NSW Government to ramp up eradication efforts to stop this pest from spreading any further, and to push the Prime Minister to get other states to put their funding on the table.
“Fire ants are a national problem, yet the national response plan is about $135 million underfunded, and action needs to be taken now.
“RIFA (Red Imported Fire Ant) is one of the world’s worst invasive species and we cannot afford to allow this pest to establish itself here in NSW, especially because of a lack of urgency.
“The reality of that will mean billions of dollars’ worth of lost agricultural production every year and the destruction of our native wildlife. It will also have a massive impact on communities, leading to thousands more medical appointments for stings, and not having the freedom to use our backyards, parks, playgrounds, beaches, and sports fields.”
NSW Nationals Member for Clarence, Richie Williamson, said the Minns Labor Government needs to get deadly serious about the fire ant threat.
Mr Williamson said the response to date from the Premier and his Primary Industries Minister on biosecurity control and eradication has been inadequate.
“The ants made their way south across the border back in November with nests found at South Murwillumbah and we now have a new infestation further south at Wardell, but there is still no clear action plan from the government on controlling any further spread,” Mr Williamson said.
“It’s time for the Premier to step up, take charge and provide confidence to Northern Rivers communities that the government has a plan to put in place immediate measures to stop the ants marching any further south.
“The Premier also needs to come clean and tell the local community what led to this latest movement of fire ants.”
Mr Williamson said the serious threat the spread of fire ants posed to local communities, including our primary industries, cannot be underestimated.
“It’s not a time to be complacent. Fire ants are one of the world’s most harmful invasive species to the agricultural sector, our native wildlife, and communities as a whole,” Mr Williamson said.
“The response from the NSW Government needs to reflect to the gravity of situation and so far it has not.
“I also think it’s critical the Government rolls out an urgent public education campaign in the Northern Rivers not only around the impact of fire ants on local communities, but how to identify them and what steps to take to report any sightings.
“To most of us the threat of this invasive pest is foreign, but it’s now on our back door and communities need to be informed and remain vigilant.
NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin said the discovery of the fire ants is another significant breach of the state’s biosecurity controls, and has called on the government to immediately ramp up control and eradication efforts.
“This latest outbreak is a stark reminder of the failure to control and eradicate these insidious pests, the entry of Red Imported Fire Ants into NSW last year demonstrated again the urgent need for increased investment by all governments to support biosecurity,” Mr Martin said.
“NSW Farmers has called for greater focus on biosecurity for many years, but we’ve seen a failure at our borders and with the Queensland Government failing to take this problem seriously, we are now facing the spread of an incredibly dangerous pest into our state.
“Red Imported Fire Ants are a threat to agricultural production and to the landscape of NSW – they can damage agricultural equipment, sting livestock, ruin the natural environment, and pose a serious risk to the health and wellbeing of all people in NSW.”
Mr Martin said while a rapid response to the Murwillumbah incursion had been encouraging, it was now clear more had to be done.
“We are calling on Premier Chris Minns and Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty to ensure the NSW Department of Primary Industries has every resource it needs to stamp out these ants quickly and decisively,” Mr Martin said.
“It’s critical DPI, with the full support of other critical agencies, can act quickly to eradicate these pests as they did at Port Botany in 2014.
“Red Imported Fire Ants should have been eradicated 20 years ago but successive Queensland governments have failed to act effectively; NSW must step up and show strong leadership on this issue.”
