SAVE AUSTRALIA FROM FIRE ANTS
Our state and federal governments are about to have a meeting where they will decide whether or not to fund fire ant eradication or abandon Australia to a future swarmed with fire ants. We must make sure they know Australians want these invasive ants eradicated for good.
How to help | Take action
The Queensland government has just released a report into the fire ant eradication program in South East Queensland.
They had been keeping the report secret, now we know why.
The report’s pages tell a shocking story: the current fire ant eradication program does not have the resources it needs to get the job done.
The report says we have three options:
- Option A: Inject the fire ant eradication program with an immediate funding boost so it can eradicate Australia’s fire ant infestation over the next decade.
- Option B: Keep things as they are, with taxpayers footing an ongoing indefinite cost that will only slow the spread of fire ants.
- Option C: Give up and let fire ants spread to nearly every ecosystem and neighbourhood in Australia.
We must choose Option A. We cannot afford to live with fire ants.
A future where we don’t eradicate fire ants means we have one of the world’s worst invasive species spread wall-to-wall across our continent.
Where will fire ants spread?
A fire ant future would cost Australians over $1.2 billion dollars every year, result in thousands of medical appointments from their stings, wipe out native wildlife and close parks, beaches, gardens and sporting fields.
The Brisbane Olympics in 2032 would be looked down on as the fire ant Olympics. Our agricultural industries could take up to a 40% hit in productivity. Households will be forced to bear the brunt of treatment costs and of electricity and water damage. Everything we do outdoors would suddenly become infested with swarms of fire ants.
In the United States, they didn’t eradicate fire ants when they had the chance. It costs them at least $7 billion per year, has led to over 85 deaths, and forces some farmers and homeowners to abandon their land.
Fire ants are on the march in Australia, and their ability to be transported in freight means they could pop up in your neighbourhood at any time. So long as they are somewhere on the mainland, every part of Australia is at risk from fire ants.
That’s why eradication is our only choice. We need YOU to sign the petition calling on our governments to do what’s right for us and future generations by committing to eradicating fire ants for good.
Governments have said that fire ant action is now being discussed through cabinet and budget processes. We need to maintain the pressure for action. Some of our governments might be trying to ignore the problem until it’s too late.
Make it clear that you want fire ants eradicated, not ignored. Sign the petition now!
The Queensland government has just released a report into the fire ant eradication program in South East Queensland.
They had been keeping the report secret, now we know why.
The report’s pages tell a shocking story: the current fire ant eradication program does not have the resources it needs to get the job done.
The report says we have three options:
- Option A: Inject the fire ant eradication program with an immediate funding boost so it can eradicate Australia’s fire ant infestation over the next decade.
- Option B: Keep things as they are, with taxpayers footing an ongoing indefinite cost that will only slow the spread of fire ants.
- Option C: Give up and let fire ants spread to nearly every ecosystem and neighbourhood in Australia.
- We must choose Option A. We cannot afford to live with fire ants.
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