Defence land could be weak spot in ant war

Farmers are on high alert after dozens of fire ant nests were discovered west of Brisbane. (Jono Searle/AAP PHOTOS)

There are mounting concerns defence sites could be acting as havens for fire ants after the first detection of the super pest in the Murray Darling Basin.

Farmers are on high alert after 78 nests were discovered at Swartz Barracks at Oakey, west of Brisbane.

The pest's arrival in the basin is of grave concern, given warnings fire ants could harness river flows to quickly invade new parts of Australia.

The Invasive Species Council believes the Oakey infestation could be years old, given how many nests there are.

Fire ants campaigner Reece Pianta is waiting on genetic testing that will confirm if the outbreak is linked to the long-standing fire ant battleground centred on Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

He says there's lots of defence land in and around southeast Queensland's fire ant biosecurity zones.

But the national eradication program, delivered by the state government, "appears to be finding it hard to respond to fire ants detected on federal land, including defence land".

He says it's unclear if active suppression is being carried out at defence sites, as it is elsewhere.

"This latest detection shows that is a gap in Australia's fire ant response."

Ken Cunliffe,
Ken Cunliffe of farming lobby group Agforce is calling for public land to be assessed for fire ants.

Ken Cunliffe from Agforce, a farming lobby group in Queensland, is also convinced the ants have been at Oakey for years and is pushing for all public land to be properly assessed and audited.

"It's not just military facilities it's also national parks ... all the other public facilities, main roads, all the road verges, they really need constant attention."

Farmers south of the border are "extremely fearful".

"If you own a property that's bordering the Murray Darling, you're now going to have a major concern that this has the potential to have a huge level of impact," NSW farmer Ian McColl has told AAP.

Serious concerns about defence land were raised in a 2021 review of the fire ant eradication program.

That review was handed to the government when Scott Morrison was still prime minister but it wasn't released for another two years, despite making a series of urgent recommendations.

Among them was the need to actively suppress fire ants on defence land.

The chair of that review recently told an inquiry she's still not sure if fire ants are being properly managed at defence sites that are outside the jurisdiction of the eradication program.

Dr Helen Scott-Orr recalled looking at a map of the Brisbane infestation.

"There was a high build-up of infestations in Brisbane and then there was a big hole in the middle," the former Australian Inspector-General of Biosecurity told the inquiry into the fire ants response. 

When she asked what the hole was, she was told it was the Greenbank military reserve.

"It looked as if there were probably lots of fire ants on that military reserve, but this was not in the jurisdiction of the national program. It was not in the jurisdiction of the Queensland state government to go onto that land, and therefore no-one was doing it."

The defence department has told AAP it's working with the eradication program to manage the recent detection at Swartz Barracks, and minimise the risk of spread.

The national eradication program says it's prioritising eradication activities in Oakey.

"So far the fire ant nests detected in Oakey are contained to one infected property," a spokesperson says.

"Intensive surveillance and treatment continues this week.

"Compliance and tracing investigations are also continuing to help determine how the ants arrived in the area."

License this article

What is AAPNews?

For the first time, Australian Associated Press is delivering news straight to the consumer.

No ads. No spin. News straight-up.

Not only do you get to enjoy high-quality news delivered straight to your desktop or device, you do so in the knowledge you are supporting media diversity in Australia.

AAP Is Australia’s only independent newswire service, free from political and commercial influence, producing fact-based public interest journalism across a range of topics including politics, courts, sport, finance and entertainment.

What is AAPNews?
The Morning Wire

Wake up to AAPNews’ morning news bulletin delivered straight to your inbox or mobile device, bringing you up to speed with all that has happened overnight at home and abroad, as well as setting you up what the day has in store.

AAPNews Morning Wire
AAPNews Breaking News
Breaking News

Be the first to know when major breaking news happens.


Notifications will be sent to your device whenever a big story breaks, ensuring you are never in the dark when the talking points happen.

Focused Content

Enjoy the best of AAP’s specialised Topics in Focus. AAP has reporters dedicated to bringing you hard news and feature content across a range of specialised topics including Environment, Agriculture, Future Economies, Arts and Refugee Issues.

AAPNews Focussed Content
Subscription Plans

Choose the plan that best fits your needs. AAPNews offers two basic subscriptions, all billed monthly.

Once you sign up, you will have seven days to test out the service before being billed.

AAPNews Full Access Plan
Full Access
AU$10
  • Enjoy all that AAPNews has to offer
  • Access to breaking news notifications and bulletins
  • Includes access to all AAPNews’ specialised topics
Join Now
AAPNews Student Access Plan
Student Access
AU$5
  • Gain access via a verified student email account
  • Enjoy all the benefits of the ‘Full Access’ plan at a reduced rate
  • Subscription renews each month
Join Now
AAPNews Annual Access Plan
Annual Access
AU$99
  • All the benefits of the 'Full Access' subscription at a discounted rate
  • Subscription automatically renews after 12 months
Join Now

AAPNews also offers enterprise deals for businesses so you can provide an AAPNews account for your team, organisation or customers. Click here to contact AAP to sign-up your business today.

SEVEN DAYS FREE
Download the app
Download AAPNews on the App StoreDownload AAPNews on the Google Play Store