The fire ant eradication program has been well-funded. The original plan was for five years and to cost $123.4. It has now blown out to a sixteen years and cost $400m: a lot of public money. The fire ant infestation is now ten times worse and Biosecurity Queensland blames a lack of funding. The Biosecurity Capability Review of 2015 and the science review of 2010 blame Biosecurity Queensland’s incompetence. Because fire ants are such a serious problem, the Agriculture Ministers’ Forum agreed in July to fund the program for another ten years at the cost of another $411m. A five year fire ant program to cost $123.4m has now blown out to a 26 year program to cost $800m. The Director-General of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, home of Biosecurity Queensland, recently tweeted, that for the first time, the program was to be genuinely and comprehensively funded to address the fire ant infestation. This is not true. The program has been well-funded from the beginning. But, if the Director-General does not address Biosecurity Queensland’s incompetence and continues to blame funding problems for the ever expanding fire ant infestation, it is likely that the fire ant program budget will blow out even further. 16 September 2017
The fire ant program has been well funded from the beginning. In August 2001, the Agriculture Ministers’ Council approved a cost share arrangement between the Commonwealth, State and Territory governments to fund a five year eradication program to cost $123.4m of public money. After five years, Biosecurity Queensland had not eradicated fire ants. But because fire ants are such a dangerous pest, Ministerial Council has continued to fund the program.
The fire ant infestation is now ten times worse than when they were first detected in 2001. Fire ants continually breach containment lines because Biosecurity Queensland has no containment program and continually re-infest treated areas because Biosecurity Queensland’s treatment program does not work. The fire ant program has now cost approximately $400m: a great deal of public money.
Biosecurity Queensland’s constant excuse for failing to eradicate fire ants has been to blame funding uncertainty. The Biosecurity Capability Review of 2015 would have none of that argument. The reviewers acknowledged that the program suffers from some uncertainty about funding, but largely because Biosecurity Queensland cannot give the funders a sound case for continued funding: Biosecurity Queensland lacks any performance data on which to base a case, it funds high cost activities with variable rates of return and does not optimise the use of its funding. The science review of 2010 said Biosecurity Queensland could not eradicate fire ants with its current methods.
Nevertheless, because fire ant are such a serious biosecurity threat, the Agriculture Ministers’ Council agreed in July to fund the fire ant program for another ten years at the cost of another $411m of public money. The fire ant program has blown out from a five year program to cost $123.4m to a twenty-six year program that will cost at least $800m.
The Director-General of the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, home of Biosecurity Queensland, recently tweeted that the fire ant program had achieved a national milestone: for the first time, the program was to ‘genuinely have funding to comprehensively address (the fire ant) prob (problem)’ This is simply an echo of Biosecurity Queensland’s constant excuse of blaming funding for its own failures. If the Director General does not address Biosecurity Queensland’s planning and operational incompetence and continues to blame inadequate funding it likely fire ants will continue to spread and the fire ant program budget will blow out even further.