Federal government urged not to let fire ant eradication funding lapse

Advocates are urging state and federal treasurers to fund the next step of fire ant eradication efforts, with a funding cliff looming in June next year.

State and federal agriculture ministers met last week to discuss the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program Response Plan 2027-32.

Queensland Primary Industries Minister Tony Perrett presented the potential impacts and consequences of wider proliferation of fire ants.

Eradication of the pests was deemed to remain "technically feasible, cost beneficial and in the national interest".

Ministers "agreed to consult their respective governments on funding and come back together for a final decision" ahead of next year's budget.

'Turning of the tide'

Invasive Species Council (ISC) advocacy director Reece Pianta said the program was beginning to see a "turning of the tide" in fighting the spread of fire ants.

"We've seen 208,000 hectares, an area almost the size of the ACT, transition from the suppression zone into active eradication," Mr Pianta said.

"Fire ants removed from the Murray-Darling Basin in northern New South Wales, no new nests detected in central Queensland."

Mr Pianta said if the ants got out of control they would cause more than $2 billion in economic damage each year. ISC modelling suggests the eradication program would cost $1 billion over five years.

He said the track record of funding for the program was "pretty scary", and that the last funding gap in 2023 saw efforts move backwards.

"What that resulted in was about a 40 per cent increase in the fire ant infestation zone. It grew from around 600,000 hectares to about 850,000," he said.

He said another funding gap in the program could see governments lose the chance to eradicate the pests completely.

The ISC urged governments to ensure funding for the next "really crucial" phase of the program.

"There's a responsible program in the field now, the community is backing it," Mr Pianta said.

"We need our governments to fund it to complete its work.

"For our treasurers and finance ministers around the country, the cost-benefit analysis is clearly in favour of paying to complete eradication right now."

Mr Perrett told state parliament in June that fire ants remained "one of Australia's most significant biosecurity threats" as he announced $10.5 million in state funding for suppression efforts in 2026-27.

"Primary producers have strongly supported the suppression efforts because they understand what is at stake … sugarcane, nursery, turf and hay know that fire ants threaten their industries, and more broadly agricultural production, regional economies, and our way of life," he said.

"Noting that a new response plan is being negotiated for the nationally cost-shared program, I again call on the federal government and cost share partners to include fire ant suppression within the next response plan."

Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins has been contacted for comment. 

Program aims to strangle spread

Fire ant eradication works by mixing insect growth inhibitor with corn grit, which is then carried to the queen by worker ants.

The bait stunts the growth of the queen, who then cannot produce new worker ants, and the colony collapses.

The biosecurity zone map covers Brisbane, Logan, and Ipswich, and reaches as far north as the Sunshine Coast and south into northern New South Wales, with isolated hotspots across the south-east.

Any materials such as soil or hay being moved from these areas must go through strict biosecurity measures to ensure no fire ants are onboard.

The National Fire Ant Eradication Program targets properties in a broad band known as an "eradication area" around a fire ant "suppression zone", which covers a large corner of south-east Queensland, including Brisbane.

The goal is to treat every property in the eradication area up to six times over a two-year period, before contracting the zone and targeting a new set of properties.

That band is intended to shift gradually toward Brisbane and the coast, strangling the ants' spread.

Properties not within the eradication zone will not be specifically targeted, but residents can contact the Fire Ant Suppression Taskforce and work with them to treat fire ants found on their properties.

Areas are monitored for five years following treatment to ensure fire ants do not return.