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Fire ant threat requires whole-of-government response, inquiry hears
By Mike Foley
Eradication of fire ants must be urgently escalated to the highest level of governments, a former top bureaucrat has told a Senate inquiry, warning the threat posed by the invasive pest goes far beyond agriculture.
Helen Scott-Orr, a former federal inspector-general of biosecurity who reviewed the national eradication program being led by the Queensland government in 2021, also told the hearing in Brisbane on Monday that the funding allocated so far was insufficient.
Fire ants forming a raft in floodwaters in South East Queensland in January.
The pest was a threat, not just to livestock and crops, but to public health, safety and expenditure, which demanded a whole-of-government response, Scott-Orr said.
“The key thing is getting engagement at a high level and getting senior decision makers to realise this isn’t just about agriculture … it’s all the urban effects,” Scott-Orr said.
“You can’t just leave it to agriculture departments and ministers to run it – it’s not fair.”
An incursion of fire ants was found in south-east Queensland in 2001, prompting eradication efforts since. Outbreaks have been detected in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania in the past year.
The venomous pest, which is native to South America and has colonised the southern United States, has made its way to Australia several times through international shipping and is capable of forming colonies in 99 per cent of mainland Australia and 80 per cent of Tasmania.
Fire ant control is the responsibility of state and federal agriculture ministers. Last year the ministers topped up funding for the eradication program, which is helmed by Queensland’s Agriculture Department, by $600 million over the four years to 2027.
Scott-Orr on Monday estimated nearly double that amount, or up to $300 million a year, was needed but said state and federal treasuries did not appreciate the potential social and financial impacts of a national outbreak.
Experts have put the total financial impact of a national outbreak at $2 billion a year.
“You can have this communication back to treasury, and the people there don’t see it has any impact on them whatsoever,” she said.
Allergy experts told the Senate inquiry last year that if a nationwide infestation occurred, up to 650,000 people could seek medical attention for bites each year, including up to 175,000 people for allergic reactions such as hives, welts and swelling that in severe cases could be fatal.
In a submission to the inquiry last month, the federal Environment Department said fire ants could injure and kill Australian wildlife, particularly defenceless hatchlings.
The Invasive Species Council told the inquiry in a submission released on Monday that state and federal health and environment ministers should also have responsibility for the management of fire ants.
“Ministerial responsibility for biosecurity matters sits commonly within the agriculture portfolio, but given the broad social and environmental impacts of fire ants, other ministers and their departments should be included in oversight and decision-making to ensure a whole-of-government response commensurate with the threat,” its submission said.
Federal Agriculture Minister Murray Watt said his government and states agreed last year to fund the eradication program.
“Following on from the 2021 report, the national fire ant eradication program went through a detailed process to determine the full cost of the eradication program over the next four years,” Watt said.
The inquiry continues in Newcastle, NSW on Tuesday.
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