{"id":333564,"date":"2023-06-21T20:35:26","date_gmt":"2023-06-21T10:35:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=333564"},"modified":"2023-06-21T22:00:41","modified_gmt":"2023-06-21T12:00:41","slug":"urgent-action-needed-agforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/06\/21\/urgent-action-needed-agforce\/","title":{"rendered":"Urgent Action Needed: AgForce"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
Fire ants may be small but they have a powerful sting … and they have now been detected at Kleinton (Photo: DPI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"<\/a>
AgForce CEO Mike Guerin (Photo: AgForce)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

June 21, 2023<\/strong><\/p>\n

AgForce has called for an urgent overhaul of the State Government\u2019s fire ant eradication program in a bid to save south-east Queensland from the dangerous pest.<\/p>\n

It follows\u00a0 revelations\u00a0the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program Strategic Review – conducted two years ago – stated eradication was impossible under the current plan and an \u201curgent change of strategy\u201d was needed.<\/p>\n

AgForce said that despite the warnings, none of the report\u2019s 27 recommendations had been implemented.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, fire ants continued to spread, with each outbreak outside the biosecurity zone costing an additional $1 million in heightened surveillance and treatment.<\/p>\n

In the past 12 months, thousands of nests have been detected – including four significant detections north, east, south and west of the biosecurity zone \u2013 and fire ants on the western side of the Great Dividing Range for the first time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

AgForce CEO Michael Guerin said the window of opportunity to eradicate fire ants was now closing.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnless there is a rapid overhaul of governance, communication gaps, and compliance in the fire ant eradication program, the chance of successful eradication from south-east Queensland is diminishing,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo one wants to live with fire ants forever. Everyone must do their almighty best to eradicate them in order to save our outdoor lifestyles, community open spaces, agriculture and native wildlife.”<\/p>\n

AgForce said that although the State Government had recently ramped up its community awareness, with brochures and billboards, it may “too little too late”.<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIt beggars belief that both governments sat on this report for two years and did nothing to address the recommendations,” Mr Guerin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe multi-million-dollar question now is \u2013 can the eradication program be salvaged and put back on track?\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Guerin said AgForce had previously highlighted gaps in the program – to no avail.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany community members in urban and peri-urban landscapes are not aware everyone has a biosecurity obligation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany do not know about movement restrictions on potential fire ant carriers such as soil, pot plants, turf and uncovered mulch. There are gaps such as hay movement amongst equestrian events, and fire ants are not included on pest inspection reports for property sales.\u201d<\/p>\n

AgForce has joined a coalition of organisations calling on the State and Federal governments to prioritise the response to the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program Strategic Review.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The coalition wants to see more investment now in the hope of eradicating Australia\u2019s fire ant infestation over the next decade.<\/p>\n

\u201cWith fire ant detections close to the NSW border and west at Toowoomba, it is essential that an urgent decision is made on how to address this biosecurity threat,” Mr Guerin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need governments to make up for lost time and prioritise the reforms recommended in the outdated report before it\u2019s too late.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AgForce has called for an urgent overhaul of the State Government\u2019s fire ant eradication program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":183027,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3,36],"tags":[1134],"yoast_head":"\nUrgent Action Needed: AgForce - southburnett.com.au<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"AgForce has called for an urgent overhaul of the State Government\u2019s fire ant eradication program in a bid to save south-east Queensland from the dangerous pest.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2023\/06\/21\/urgent-action-needed-agforce\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Urgent Action Needed: AgForce - 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