David Littleproud slams Labor for doing “absolutely nothing” for fire ant containment

Nationals leader David Littleproud has lashed out at the Albanese Government for doing “absolutely nothing” in its fight against fire ants, issuing a stark warning that the problem must not “come back to bite us”. The fresh criticism comes after Federal Labor last week finally released its response to the Red Imported Fire Ant Senate Inquiry Report, which was handed down to the Government in April. The report, which was highly critical of the Government’s response to the pest, made 10 recommendations, including reviewing the funding levels of State and Territory governments as part of the National Fire Ant Eradication Program. Mr Littleproud said the Government had made no progress since the report’s release. “It’s a huge coincidence that the Federal Labor Government has done absolutely nothing since the Senate inquiry and waited until the first day of a new LNP Government in Queensland to release its response,” he said. “These delays have allowed the fire ant biosecurity zone to progressively increase in size.” Mr Littleproud said Labor had neglected planning and funding for fire ant containment in favour of putting all efforts into the Queensland State election. “As a result, community safety, productivity and our future way of life has been put at risk,” he said. “Now Labor is acting as if it’s business as usual, even though outliers have been found in the Ranges and in New South Wales and fire ants have been spreading. Labor must now get cracking and actually take action, not waste another six months.” Red imported fire ants, which have been identified in Queensland and NSW, pose a threat to a range of agricultural sectors as they can damage and kill both livestock and plants. In its submission to the Senate Inquiry report, the National Farmers’ Federation said the fire ants could potentially cost wheat growers up to $200 million in profits. Almost all of Australia is climatically suited for the pest, which can form rafts during flooding and stow away in freight, making them hard to contain. There are no fire ants in WA, however, there are fears that will change. WAFarmers president John Hassell said the ants were “brutal”. “We don’t want them here and we should do everything in our power to control them,” he told Countryman. The Senate Enquiry Report included scathing comments by committee chair Senator Matthew Canavan, who wrote a “severe lack” of transparency, co-operation, and funding from the Government had impeded its response against “Australia’s greatest current biosecurity challenge”. “Australia’s red imported fire ant response has been hampered by shortfalls in funding, excessive bureaucracy, insufficient co-ordination between different levels of government, a lack of transparency and a reluctance to involve industry and the private sector in solutions,” Mr Canavan wrote. Federal Agriculture Minister Julie Collins defended the Government’s efforts against fire ants. “The Albanese Labor Government is providing unprecedented investment of $296.4 million over four years to deliver the 2023-27 Response Plan to eradicate red imported fire ants from southeast Queensland,” she said. “This is five times as much funding than was the case previously from the previously Coalition Government.”