Latest news with #Pianta
Perth Now
11-07-2025
- Business
- Perth Now
Fury as fire ants hit major coalmine
An outbreak of fire ants has hit mining giant BHP's Broadmeadow mine in central Queensland, sparking alarm and fury in environmentalists. The Invasive Species Council flagged the outbreak on Friday, warning it marked the first time the ants, which can cause devastating economic and environmental impacts, had been detected in the region. 'In the last week, we've had another detection in NSW, an interception in WA and now the first outbreak in Central Queensland,' advocacy manager Reece Pianta said. 'I am incredibly angry about this. This is not bad luck. It's a spectacular failure because of known gaps in funding, enforcement and surveillance.' The ants infect painful stings on people and animals and pose a threat to agricultural businesses. They can fly up to 5km and travel over and underground, the government's animal and plant pests and diseases website states, and can also move with shipping containers and cargo and hide in soil, mulch, fertiliser and plant material. The government has spent $690m to contain and eradicate the species since 2001 following an outbreak in South East Queensland. Red imported fire ants are an invasive ant species that can infect painful stings on people and animals. Supplied Credit: Supplied A nest of fire ants has been discovered at a BHP coalmine in central Queensland. BHP Credit: News Regional Media The 2021 Scott-Orr Review concluded an extra $200m to $300m in yearly funding for 10 years was needed to contain and eradicate the threat. 'Australia's last chance to eradicate deadly fire ants is being destroyed because Australia's governments are dithering and delaying critical funding increases,' Mr Pianta said. 'We have warned for two years that there is a major gap in funding for suppression, with nest densities off the charts south of Brisbane. 'The Senate inquiry found this. The independent program review found this. The Queensland government has raised this. The federal biosecurity department knows this. 'But every time it has been raised, the message we get back is that new funding is just around the corner if only we will be patient.' Broadmeadow is a metallurgical coalmine located near Moranbah in Queensland's Bowen Basin, about 1050km north of Brisbane. National Fire Ant Eradication Program officers visited the mine site on Wednesday to clear out the ant nests. Fire ants pose a serious threat to the country's agricultural industry. Supplied Credit: Supplied The Invasive Species Council warns fire ants are spreading across Australia. Supplied Credit: Supplied A BHP spokesman said the company was working closely with the program to support the 'rapid containment, treatment and eradication' of the detection. Mr Pianta said the Broadmeadow detection demonstrated the country's control system was 'breaking down'. 'This outbreak at Broadmeadow is almost 800km from the known infestation zone,' he said. 'That's simply unacceptable. Every mine site and construction project across the country should be checking for fire ants. 'Any business or resident that has received materials from South East Queensland needs to check them. 'This outbreak is a national wake-up call.' In 2024, The Australia Institute warned that fire ants could cost the country up to $22bn in losses by the 2040s. It is estimated the ants will produce $2.5bn in damages each year beyond 2035.
Sky News AU
03-07-2025
- Health
- Sky News AU
Fire ant invasion spreads south as farmers and scientists call on federal and NSW governments for more help eradicating the threat
Scientists and farmers are pleading with the NSW and Albanese governments for extra funding after a fire ant nest was found in the Northern Rivers region of NSW. The state government confirmed the nest, which was discovered on a residential property in Tweed Heads, was destroyed yesterday and ordered a survey of the immediate 500 metres surrounding the site for any other fire ant activity. A 5-kilometre exclusion zone around the property has been established, restricting the movement of high-risk material that could contain the insects. "This is a national biosecurity emergency unfolding right in front of us," Invasive Species Council advocacy manager Reece Pianta said. "We urgently need the Albanese government to step up, match Queensland's $24 million suppression funding boost, and commit to the full ongoing eradication program,' Mr Pianta said, referring to the extra eradication efforts and funding the Crisafulli government committed to yesterday in regional areas of southeast Queensland "Their aggressive stings can trigger severe allergic reactions in humans, and they pose a serious threat to pets, livestock, native animals, and infrastructure.' The NSW Farmers Association is also calling for a crackdown, with biosecurity committee chair Tony Hegarty saying the repeated detections of fire ants in the state pointed to a colossal biosecurity failure. "We're rapidly losing the battle from one pest to another here in NSW, and the way we're going, fire ants could well be the next threat our government fails to control," he said. "Current biosecurity measures clearly aren't doing the job, and while we've got $100 million in new biosecurity funding, this one pest alone could cost us $60 billion over the next 30 years." According to the Invasive Species Council, fire ants came into Australia in shipping containers from the United States. There they cost US agriculture over $10 billion ($6.5 billion US) each year. In the US, 30% to 60% of people in infested areas are stung each year. The alkaloid venom causes pustules and, in some people, allergic reactions. More than 95% of Australia is suitable for fire ant infestation, with only extreme cold areas escaping the invasive species.
The Guardian
24-03-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Fire ant sting hospitalisations surge post-Cyclone Alfred as reports of first pet death also emerge
Twenty-three people have been hospitalised with serious fire ant stings amid a surge in reports of the invasive pest in the aftermath of Ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred and a new $24m package targeting suppression of the insect. The National Fire Ant Eradication Program has received notifications of 60 serious red imported fire ant (Rifa) stings in south-east Queensland since 1 March, with 23 serious enough to warrant hospital care. Separately, a puppy stung to death 15 months ago was reportedly the first pet killed in Queensland by the ants. A program spokesperson said: 'Fire ants deliver painful, fiery stings that can cause severe, and sometimes fatal, reactions in humans, pets, and animals,' citing National Allergy Centre of Excellence and Allergy and Anaphylaxis Australia figures that show up to 7.5% of people stung require medical attention. The reported rates of fire ants stings were well above average, said Reece Pianta, the advocacy manager at the Invasive Species Council. Most people stung were doing cyclone clean-up work at the time, he said. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email 'It just shows you what a serious risk fire ants pose to anyone who's got a job that requires them to go outdoors, or who enjoys bush walking or barbecues on the beach,' he said. 'It tells us what the future will be like across the country if fire ant densities grow and spread everywhere.' The impacts of growing Rifa densities on pets was also becoming clearer, Pianta said. 'We are getting a lot of reports of animals having anaphylactic reactions in parks [and] of insect sting events causing animal fatalities,' he said. Fifteen months ago, Ebony Britton's puppy was found dead on a fire ant nest in Greenbank, near Logan. Pianta said it was the first pet death he could definitively say was caused by fire ants. Pianta said back-to-back flooding events, under-resourcing and inadequate support for property owners was to blame on an 'explosion' in fire ant numbers. The council has warned that flood events spread the super-pest. 'I can easily think of half a dozen locations south of Brisbane where I can go and see 100 nests right now. That is something that's changed in the last 18 months.' He said earlier modelling showed that were fire ants to become endemic, 150,000 Australians each year would need medical attention because of fire ants stings. On Monday, the Queensland government announced a $24m boost to Queensland's Fire Ant Suppression taskforce, which will target 212,000 hectares (523,862 acres) within the region's suppression zone over the next two years. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion The Crisafulli government said the treatment would reduce Rifa density in the fire ant suppression zone by up to 80%, focusing on areas along the Logan and Albert rivers and parts of the Scenic Rim, where Rifa densities were highest. The Queensland minister for primary industries, Tony Perrett, said: 'We're hitting fire ants hard in the suppression zone, doubling down on suppression efforts to deal with this destructive pest before it impacts more Queenslanders. 'By working with other states and the commonwealth … I am very confident we will be able to prevent a fully fledged invasion.' Pianta said the federal government now needed to match the funds. 'That's why this funding announcement is so timely, and why it is essential that we see a federal commitment about this at the coming election. This is an issue the community is very concerned about in Queensland at the moment,' he said. Rifa are native to South America and are believed to have arrived in Australia via infected materials on ships at the port of Brisbane in 2001 but may have been present in the country since 1992. They are dark reddish-brown with darker abdomens and pose a widespread risk to native wildlife, industry and Australia's way of life. The pest has now spread to more than 700,000 hectares (1.73m acres) in the Brisbane region and outlier detections have in the past year been found in Oakey, the Sunshine Coast and northern NSW.
Yahoo
24-03-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Major $24 million move to tackle 'ticking time bomb' threatening Australia
A state government has announced it is injecting a further $24 million into its plans for tackling fire ants, with the invasive threat being described as a "ticking time bomb" that could change Australia as we know it. Reece Pianta from the Invasive Species Council (ISC) said the Queensland government needed to "ramp up" its eradication plan, warning the risk of fire ants from completely spreading across the country was one bad weather event away after the floods caused by Cyclone Alfred caused alarming movement. It comes after Yahoo News reported a Brisbane teenager was hospitalised when fire ant stings set off a life-threatening allergic reaction, which highlighted the devastating threat the invasive species has on Aussies. After the announcement of the increased funding on Monday, Pianta told Yahoo News it was definitely a step in the right direction — but much more had to be done. "This is targeted funding to help manage fire ants in the suppression zone where we're starting to see significant reports of fire ant sting events on humans and animals," he told Yahoo. "But containment is not a long-term solution... the ants only need to find a way through the containment boundary to a new location. The quicker we eradicate them, the more secure the country will be against the risk." The Queensland funding will be rolled out over two years and focus on the areas where fire ants have already inhabited, such as southeast areas of the state. The funds are on top of the $38 million already committed over five years. The federal government's fire ant eradication plan involves injecting $592 million over four years and will focus heavily on the detection and treatment of the ants in the containment area. However, the ISC fears this won't be enough. "It isn't just a problem for Queensland, this is a problem for the whole nation... there's a huge risk of them spreading and getting out of control," Pianta said. "It needs to be an election issue. "It's getting worse... we're starting to get regular reports from people in the community that fire ants are allegedly stinging pets and humans... we're starting to see the predicted health and animal welfare impacts from fire ants." 🏡 Property owners called to action over 'world's worst' invasive threat 🚨 Photo reveals 'devastating' threat fenced off as Australia on high alert 👶 Strangers find Aussie toddler wandering alone, covered in ants There are increasingly more Aussies starting to have run-ins with fire ants as the insects establish themselves in southeast Queensland, with more than 50 Queenslanders experiencing fire ant stings since Cyclone Alfred alone, according to the ISC. A Brisbane teenager was hospitalised after fire ant stings set off a life-threatening allergic reaction. There have also been reports of pets such as dogs and horses being stung. Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@ You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter and YouTube.
The Guardian
12-03-2025
- Climate
- The Guardian
Expert concerned as large rafts of invasive fire ants seen floating in flood waters after Cyclone Alfred
Fire ants are forming rafts to survive and travel on flood waters caused by ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred in south-east Queensland as experts warn extreme weather events could sweep the highly invasive species into other parts of Australia. Footage captured in the Scenic Rim and northern Gold Coast in recent days shows red imported fire ants (Rifas) grouping together and floating on flood waters. Clumps of the ants can then be seen forming nests on previously uninfested land after waters receded. Kirsty McKenna, who filmed the fire ants rafting on her Allenview property, said entire colonies were clinging on to debris and staying buoyant, ready to make nests on dry ground. 'There's piles of them everywhere, floating through the waterway, heading to the Logan River,' she says in the video. Reece Pianta, advocacy manager at the Invasive Species Council, said the colonies were likely to have spread several kilometres from their starting points, with larger rafts more likely to have travelled further. 'The risk of fire ants spreading in flood waters after a disaster is very high and we're very concerned about it,' he said. The rare phenomenon was also filmed in floods early last year. It was the first time Pianta had seen footage of the unusual adaptive behaviour in Australia. 'This year, the rafts appear to be much larger, they're pointing to higher densities of fire ants and bigger colonies,' he said. Heavy rainfall in southern Queensland will spread high-density infestations regionally and could also sweep fire ants into carrier materials such as turf, which could then inadvertently relocate the pests to other parts of the country, he said. 'We're lucky fire ants aren't in the Murray-Darling basin, but this is the kind of event that could see them spread into New South Wales if they were,' he said. McKenna, who lives close to turf and hay farmers whose products travel beyond Queensland, said she was 'worried if we don't reduce the fire ant infestation, it will undermine Australia's eradication efforts'. Rifas are native to South America and are believed to have arrived in Australia via infected materials on ships at the port of Brisbane in 2001 but may have been present in the country since 1992. They are dark reddish-brown with darker abdomens and pose widespread risk to native wildlife, industry and Australia's way of life. Rifas have now spread to more than 700,000 hectares (1.73m acres) in the Brisbane region and outlier detections have in the past year been found in Oakey, the Sunshine Coast and northern NSW. A detection in Wardell, about 70km south of the Queensland-NSW border, was blamed on landscaping supplies brought into NSW for reconstruction efforts after 2022 flood events. Pianta said that an urgent increase in Rifa suppression was needed. 'Fire ants are one of the world's worst super pests and their unchecked spread will result in economic damage greater than that caused by cane toads, rabbits, feral cats and foxes combined,' he said. 'We call on Peter Dutton and Anthony Albanese to commit to an urgent fire ant surge and long-term funding,' he said, adding that fire ants were not an election issue for Queenslanders. 'Fire ants will spread to all parts of Australia if eradication fails,' he said.
