It has been a busy 24 hours at Wardell after fire ants were discovered there yesterday (Friday, 19 January).

The new discovery has drawn criticism from NSW Farmers President Xavier Martin and Leader of the Nationals David Littleproud.

Mr Martin said it was another significant breach of the state’s biosecurity controls and called on the government to immediately ramp up control and eradication efforts.

“This latest outbreak is a stark reminder of the failure to control and eradicate these insidious pests, the entry of Red Imported Fire Ants into NSW last year demonstrated again the urgent need for increased investment by all governments to support biosecurity,” Mr Martin said. 

“NSW Farmers has called for greater focus on biosecurity for many years, but we’ve seen a failure at our borders and with the Queensland Government failing to take this problem seriously, we are now facing the spread of an incredibly dangerous pest into our state.

Mr Littleproud said the latest infestation, 85 kilometres south of the Queensland border, is another sign that Labor has lost control of eradicating the pest. 

This afternoon NSW Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty announced that the fire ants site at Wardell has been destroyed and is no longer a risk to the community living in the immediate area.

To manage the risks of spread, a biosecurity control order has been put in place with immediate effect, restricting movement within the surrounding 5km area of the site in Wardell, south of Ballina.

Department of Primary Industry (DPI) teams will support the local businesses and community who will need to lock down movement of landscaping, gardening, and building materials plus machinery until inspected and checked.

The NSW Government is working closely with the Commonwealth and the Queensland Governments, plus Ballina Shire Council. Experienced teams are on site and today chemically eradicated the infestation and treating a radius of 500 metres from the site.

Following detection of the fire ants the NSW Government instigated its action plan covering - eradication, control, tracing, and engagement of local businesses and community.

The fire ants in Wardell were originally reported in by a member of the community to the NSW Biosecurity Hotline on Friday 19 January and confirmed as fire ants late that day. 

The NSW DPI team moved swiftly with colleagues from the National Fire Ant Eradication Program and Ballina Shire Council to destroy the fire ants, control the site, start tracing the source and survey the surrounding area.

The team will continue activities with sniffer dogs and boots on the ground to determine the extent of any infestation, undertake genetic testing of the fire ants, as well as engaging and supporting the impacted local community and businesses.

The following types of materials cannot be moved out of the 5km zone: mulch, soil, compost and manure, growing media, hay, chaff, silage, potted plants, turf, agricultural and earth moving equipment, grass/vegetation and clippings.

Everyone is urged to continue vigilance in keeping an eye out for fire ants, reporting suspected ants to the NSW Biosecurity Hotline at 1800 680 244 or online at www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fire-ants.  

There are strict restrictions for moving material from control areas. Breaching the emergency biosecurity order carries penalties of up to $1.1 million for an individual and up to $2.2 million for a corporation.

For more information on fire ants and control restrictions visit www.dpi.nsw.gov.au/fire-ant.

Minister for Agriculture Tara Moriarty said, “Our teams were prepared for this discovery of fire ants south of Ballina and immediately implemented our response plan and destroyed the fire ant site. 

“Red imported fire ants are an invasive pest and that is why the Minns Government increased the NSW contribution to eradication from $15 million to $95 million last year. 

“Biosecurity is a shared responsibility and I encourage everyone to continue to check their properties for these pests. With the summer cross-border travel in peak times I ask everyone to be careful of what they’re moving and where.

“We will continue to keep the community informed of progress and will continue working closely with industry, the local community and our state and federal counterparts.”