The state’s peak farming group has welcomed a fresh crackdown on biosecurity controls in the wake of ex-tropical Cyclone Alfred.

On Friday NSW Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty announced measures to keep Red Imported Fire Ants out, with a temporary ban on soil and hay coming into the state from infested areas in southeast Queensland.

NSW Farmers Biosecurity Committee Chair Tony Hegarty said recent footage of fire ant ‘rafts’ in Queensland’s Scenic Rim region had sparked serious concerns around the spread of the ants in the wake of recent flood events.

“We’re seeing thousands of these deadly ants cling together and create massive rafts in Queensland floodwater,” Mr Hegarty said. 

“While these rafts haven’t been spotted in NSW as yet, floodwater does spread these ants about, and we can’t be careful enough when it comes to protecting our communities against these pests.”  

If allowed to spread throughout Australia, it is estimated fire ants would cost the economy a total of $60 billion dollars in damages, with the ants known to attack livestock, people and pests. Fire ants are found in southeast Queensland and are known to gather together as large rafts in floodwater as a survival mechanism.

As communities recovered from recent flood events, Mr Hegarty said the measures to stop the ants had come as welcome news to farmers on the front line of the threat.

“NSW deserves a biosecurity system that is proactive and effective when it comes to eradicating extreme biosecurity threats – and that includes fire ants,” Mr Hegarty said.

“A serious biosecurity regime is what we need the NSW Government to deliver, and we thank them for hearing us in this most critical hour.”