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Queensland takes the fight to stamp out fire ants to Canberra

A delegation from Queensland has travelled to Australian Parliament House to meet with the Albanese Government and Coalition Opposition seeking urgent action to fight fire ants.

The group, which includes the Invasive Species Council. Queensland Primary Industries Minister and Mayors from south east Queensland, are calling on the federal government to help make Australia fire ant-free by:

  • Providing an urgent funding boost to match Queensland’s $24 million investment into aerial treatment in the suppression zone.
  • Committing to continued funding from 2027-28 onwards to eradicate fire ants from south east Queensland by 2032.

Invasive Species Council Advocacy Director Reece Pianta said:

‘Fire ants are one of the world’s worst super pests. If they are allowed to spread across Australia, their economic impact will be greater than cane toads, rabbits, feral cats and foxes combined.

‘We have a closing window of opportunity to get rid of fire ants once and for all, but unless the federal government steps up and funding doubles, eradication will fail.’

Minister for Primary Industries Hon Tony Perrett MP said:

‘This is not just about Queensland, it’s about protecting Australia’s biosecurity, environment, economy and outdoors lifestyle.

‘The fire ants that break containment lines have generally been transported from the suppression area, so we need to drive down population densities to help stop the spread and we need the Federal Government to join us. 

‘The Crisafulli Government is serious about eradicating fire ants and we cannot underestimate the importance of suppression in reaching this goal.’

Council of Mayors (SEQ) Treasurer and Lockyer Valley Mayor Tanya Milligan said:

‘South east Queensland is home to Queensland’s food bowl and one of the world’s most fertile farming regions, the Lockyer Valley.

‘We’re critical to Australia’s food security producing more than a third of Queensland’s vegetable supply, and an estimated 5% of the nation’s produce.

‘We need urgent action to protect our food chain, and our local farmers, communities and economies that rely on it.’

Logan City Council Mayor, Jon Raven said:

‘We want to see Logan and south east Queensland fire ant-free, and we need all levels of government working closely together to continue the fight to eradicate them for good.’

Somerset Regional Council Mayor, Jason Wendt said:

‘The threat of fire ants has already dealt a blow to our agricultural industry impacting cross-border trade and adding new regulation and cost for local businesses.

‘Eradicating fire ants is essential for the future of our local primary producers across south east Queensland.’

Media inquiries: (02) 8006 5004

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    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]


    Dear Project Team,

    [YOUR PERSONALISED MESSAGE WILL APPEAR HERE.] 

    I support the amendment to the Kosciuszko National Park Wild Horse Heritage Management Plan to allow our incredible National Parks staff to use aerial shooting as one method to rapidly reduce feral horse numbers. I want to see feral horse numbers urgently reduced in order to save the national park and our native wildlife that live there.

    The current approach is not solving the problem. Feral horse numbers have rapidly increased in Kosciuszko National Park to around 18,000, a 30% jump in just the past 2 years. With the population so high, thousands of feral horses need to be removed annually to reduce numbers and stop our National Park becoming a horse paddock. Aerial shooting, undertaken humanely and safely by professionals using standard protocols, is the only way this can happen.

    The government’s own management plan for feral horses states that ‘if undertaken in accordance with best practice, aerial shooting can have the lowest negative animal welfare impacts of all lethal control methods’.

    This humane and effective practice is already used across Australia to manage hundreds of thousands of feral animals like horses, deer, pigs, and goats.

    Trapping and rehoming of feral horses has been used in Kosciuszko National Park for well over a decade but has consistently failed to reduce the population, has delayed meaningful action and is expensive. There are too many feral horses in the Alps and not enough demand for rehoming for it to be relied upon for the reduction of the population.

    Fertility control as a management tool is only effective for a small, geographically isolated, and accessible population of feral horses where the management outcome sought is to maintain the population at its current size. It is not a viable option to reduce the large and growing feral horse population in the vast and rugged terrain of Kosciuszko National Park.

    Feral horses are trashing and trampling our sensitive alpine ecosystems and streams, causing the decline and extinction of native animals. The federal government’s Threatened Species Scientific Committee has stated that feral horses ‘may be the crucial factor that causes final extinction’ for 12 alpine species.

    I recognise the sad reality that urgent and humane measures are necessary to urgently remove the horses or they will destroy the Snowies and the native wildlife that call the mountains home. I support a healthy national park where native species like the Corroboree Frog and Mountain Pygmy Possum can thrive.

    Kind regards,
    [Your name]
    [Your email address]
    [Your postcode]