The NSW government has introduced an emergency biosecurity exclusion zone in the Tweed Shire after the discovery of fire ants in NSW for the first time last week.
The exclusion zone applies to a five-kilometre radius from a Tweed Council-owned vacant block in the new industrial estate at Quarry Road, South Murwillumbah, where the ants were reported.
Residents and businesses included in the zone are banned from trading or moving any of the same products that have been banned from being brought into NSW from QLD for months.
Those products are all earth-related and include mulch, woodchips, compost, sand, gravel, soil, hay and other baled products as well as pot plants and quarry materials.
The NSW government introduced the restrictions after QLD authorities confirmed fire ants had been found as south as Tallebudgera on the Gold Coast, close to the NSW border.
People in the Tweed Shire are being asked to be vigilant in checking properties for the red ants, with the insects known to spread very quickly and cause mass destruction, mostly in environmental terms and in impacts on farming businesses.
Anyone who suspects fire ants on their property is being urged not to disturb the nest but to report the activity to the NSW DPI by calling 1800 680 244 or visiting dpi.nsw.gov.au/biosecurity/forms/report-exotic-ants.
More detail on the National Fire Ant Eradication Program can be found online at www.fireants.org.au.
Fire ants have never been eradicated, says federal ag minister
Tweed Shire Mayor Chris Cherry says the biosecurity exclusion zone will impact a lot of local agricultural businesses that will need to apply for permits before resuming trade of banned goods.
She says it’s fortunate the site of ant discovery is Council-owned, as it means eradication measures and follow-up controls can be carried out immediately.
The site is part of an approved industrial land subdivision, with subcontracted earthworks and landscaping underway.
National Fire Ant Eradication Program (NFAEP) investigators are to interview people known to have been on the work site about what was brought in.
The mayor says the NFAEP and the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) are in charge of managing the ants’ spread, with the Tweed Shire Council working under their lead.
The council issued a media release after 5pm Friday saying the infestation had been reported to authorities on Thursday.
Three colonies across nine nests have since been confirmed.
NSW Farmers have issued a statement saying the ants can damage agricultural equipment, sting livestock, and damage the natural environment.
The group says red imported fire ants ‘should have been eradicated 20 years ago but ineffective management in Queensland enabled them to become established’.
‘We want red imported fire ants eradicated not only in New South Wales, but in Queensland where this incursion originated,’ NSW Farmers says.
But Federal Agricultural Minister Murray Watt has told media no authorities anywhere in the world have been able to eradicate fire ants.
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