Mining giant called to foot the bill after fire ant outbreak
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9 News
15 hours ago
- 9 News
Mining giant called to foot the bill after fire ant outbreak
Your web browser is no longer supported. To improve your experience update it here Mining giant BHP should foot the bill for a major fire ant outbreak in Queensland , an advocacy group says. It comes after odour detection dog teams found the presence of fire ants at several mine sites in the Central Highlands and Isaac Council regions, including at the BHP Broadmeadow Mine west of Mackay. Fire ants are considered invasive and feed on Australian flora and fauna, as well as displacing or eliminating native species. Fire ants can have a serious impact on Australia's ecosystem. (NSW Department of Primary Industries) In light of the latest detection, Reece Pianta believes BHP should be the ones to pay for the treatment required across their sites that were impacted by the fire ant infestation. "When a mining company moves contaminated material and sparks an outbreak, taxpayers shouldn't be left footing the bill – the companies responsible must pay to have their mess cleaned up, no different from an oil spill," he said. "This is a catastrophic breach – shipments from just one infested site have triggered a major regional outbreak. "But every dollar and every drone we have should be focused on wiping out fire ants at the frontlines near Brisbane, not cleaning up after corporate carelessness." The infestation occurred at a BHP mine in Queensland. (Will Willitts) Pianta insists it is not a matter of punishing companies such as BHP in this instance, rather than forcing public funds to be used would undermine efforts to deal with the fire ants issue. Much of the country is at high risk of infestation, according to data from the National Fire Ant Eradication Program. "This isn't about companies footing the bill for everything. But if governments allow outbreaks like this to suck resources away from where they're needed most, we risk undermining the eradication effort across the whole country," he said. "BHP did the right thing reporting and supporting fire ant surveillance work, now they are uniquely well placed to support the response." BHP has been contacted for comment. national Australia queensland mining environment animals CONTACT US Property News: Sydney's iconic wedding cake house is for sale for $9m.
Sky News AU
15 hours ago
- Sky News AU
‘Corporate carelessness': Invasive Species Council blasts an unknown operator for transporting fire ants across central Queensland
An invasive species that costs the Australian economy around $2.5 billion a year has been detected at five mining sites in central Queensland just six weeks after it was reported at a BHP mine. The fire ants were found using odour-detecting dogs in the Central Highlands and Isaacs Region, after an initial outbreak at a Broadmeadow mine. According to the National Fire Ant Eradication Program (NFAEP), it is believed that the ants stowed away in a pallet of bricks that was located some 800km away from a fire ant biosecurity zone. Although the mines involved have not been named, the Invasive Species Council has blasted what its advocacy manager Reece Pianta called a catastrophic case of corporate carelessness. He said moving material that was known to be contaminated was corporate carelessness and warned that the taxpayer were going to be footing the bill for the consequences. 'Every dollar and every drone we have should be focused on wiping out fire ants at the front lines near Brisbane, not cleaning up after corporate carelessness,' he said. But he said that BHP was not to blame for the initial outbreak, adding that they had done the right thing in reporting and supporting the NFAEP. NFAEP's director of Specialist Operations Tom Roberts said the eradication of the pest was a shared community effort. He said that cooperation with industry was vital to ensure that the ants did not end up outside control zones. 'I encourage everyone sourcing equipment or materials that can carry fire ants from within fire ant biosecurity zones to ensure their suppliers follow fire ant safe-practices,' he said. Fire ants were first detected in Australia after a pallet of contaminated wood arrived in Brisbane in 2001. The ants can thrive in over 97 per cent of environments across Australia. The National Fire Ant Prevention Program aims to fully eradicate the ants by 2032, but recent wet weather in southeast Queensland and northern New South Wales has shown the species can travel on floodwaters unaided. In America, they are rumoured to be responsible for up to hundreds of deaths, and it is believed that 174,000 people in Australia could develop allergic reactions.
News.com.au
18 hours ago
- News.com.au
Invasive fire ant spreads to Central Queensland after mine outbreak
Invasive fire ants have spread to five additional mine sites in Central Queensland, after the pest was first detected at a BHP coal mine last month. The invasive species was located by odour detecting dogs at several mines in the Central Highlands and Isaac Council regions just six weeks after being reported at BHP's Broadmeadow site. The National Fire Ant Eradication Program (NFAEP) linked the outbreak to a pallet of bricks which had been stored on soil and transported more than 800km from a fire ant biosecurity zone. While the NFAEP has declined to reveal the names of the affected mines, the Invasive Species Council has called on the companies responsible to 'pay to have their mess cleaned up'. The Council's advocacy manager Reece Pianta, said this was a 'catastrophic breach', and that shipments from a single infested site had triggered a 'major regional outbreak'. 'Every dollar and every drone we have should be focused on wiping out fire ants at the front lines near Brisbane, not cleaning up after corporate carelessness,' he said. 'When a mining company moves contaminated material and sparks an outbreak, taxpayers shouldn't be footing the bill.' The NFAEP's Director of Specialist Operations Tom Roberts said eradicating the pest was a 'shared community responsibility' and that industry cooperation was 'critical'. 'I encourage everyone sourcing equipment or materials that can carry fire ants from within fire ant biosecurity zones to ensure their suppliers follow fire ant safe-practices,' he said. The Invasive Species Council said while BHP had done the right thing reporting and supporting the fire ant surveillance work, governments needed to crack down on companies that breach movement restrictions. 'This isn't about companies footing the bill for everything,' Mr Pianta said. 'But if governments allow outbreaks like this to suck resources away from where they're needed most, we risk undermining the eradication effort across the whole country.' Red imported fire ants were first detected in South East Queensland in 2001, with a nationally cost-shared program aiming to eradicate the pest by 2032. The invasive species are able to thrive in 97 per cent of Australia's environments according to the NFAEP, and are able to spread on anything that touches the ground. The ants, which have been responsible for hundreds of deaths in the US since the 1990s, could see 174,000 people develop severe allergic reactions if the species became endemic in Australia according to national allergy bodies. 'Eradicating fire ants is a national priority,' the NFAEP said. BHP has been contacted for comment.
