NEW suburbs across Ipswich will be targeted in the next phase of fire ant eradication, with authorities moving treatments into the core infestation area for the first time after years of successfully containing the invasive pest’s spread.
The National Fire Ant Eradication Program has announced additional suburbs across Ipswich, Lockyer Valley, Logan, Scenic Rim and Somerset will now receive eradication treatments.
The milestone has been welcomed by the Invasive Species Council, which said it was the clearest sign yet that Australia’s eradication strategy was working, while warning governments not to undermine the progress with a looming funding shortfall beyond 2027.
Invasive Species Council Advocacy Director Reece Pianta said the shift to treating the core infestation represented a major turning point in Australia’s fight against fire ants.
“This is the clearest sign yet that Australia’s eradication strategy is working, but only because governments have finally begun investing at the scale experts have long recommended,” Mr Pianta said.
“Australia has already run the experiment of underfunding fire ant eradication – and it failed. We should not repeat the same mistake in 2027.
“Five years ago, governments penny-pinched on eradication and the infestation exploded by more than 40 per cent, growing from around 600,000 hectares to 850,000 hectares.”
Lockyer Valley Regional Council Mayor Tanya Milligan, speaking on behalf of the Council of Mayors South East Queensland, said the consequences of failing to eradicate fire ants would be felt nationwide.
“Fire ants have the potential to seriously harm people, pets and livestock, damage crops, destroy infrastructure and make parks, sporting fields and backyards unsafe.”
