Writings: Biosecurity Queensland's Fire Ant Program limps along for another 6 months with an EXTRA $33.3m to re-do 2017 job. C'wealth throws good public money after bad. Time for a Royal Commission.



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More money and more fire ants.

 The 2020-21 budget for the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication, implemented by Biosecurity Queensland and Chaired by Dr Wendy Craik, was $58.5m – up from $41m pa in 2017.

By the beginning of the 2021-22 financial year, the program was threatened by significant new infestations outside the western and south-western boundaries of the program and significant new infestations inside the program’s boundaries because of gaps in the program’s previous treatment rounds.  

Queensland’s Chief Biosecurity Officer, Malcolm Letts feared the program would exhaust its nearly $60m budget to treat an entrenched and spreading infestation by December 2021. So, he threatened the Commonwealth and other State and Territory governments. He said if they did not cough-up another EXTRA $33.3m for the second half of the 2021-22 financial year, Biosecurity Queensland would pull the pin on the entire National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program.

Throwing good public money after bad.

The Australian Agriculture Ministers’ Forum, chaired by Federal Minister David Littleproud, with Queensland Minister Mark Furner a member, caved in and approved an EXTRA $33.3m of public money so the program could re-do what it failed to do in 2017.

In July 2017 the treatment plan for the fire ant program was a progressive ‘rolling’ strategy that focussed on the outer western and south-western boundaries of the infestation in the Lockyer Valley, Somerset and Scenic Rim local government areas then rolling eastward to treat Ipswich city in 2019, Brisbane and Logan cities in 2021 and Redland and the Gold Coast cities 2023. 

In January 2022, the treatment plan for the fire ant program is a staged, ‘rolling’ strategy, starting on the western and south-western boundaries of the infestation in the Lockyer Valley, Somerset and Scenic Rim local government areas and Ipswich city, then moving east towards the coast.  Look familiar?

Time for a Royal Commission

 The Agriculture Ministers’ Forum continues to throw more good public money after bad when it knows:

  • the budget for the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program has blown out from $123.4m over five years to over $650m over twenty years.
  • the fire ant infestation has blown out from 40,000ha to over 650,000ha, and
  • the program is implementing its Community and Self-Management Exit Strategies – the only options left when the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program has failed to either eradication the pest or control its spread.

The Ministers’ Forum continues to throw good public money after bad when it has in hand:

  • the program’s annual report for 2020-21 which seems to be too damming to release to the public.
  • the report from the independent review of the program by Dr Scott-Orr, previously Inspector-General of Biosecurity, which also seems to be too damming to release to the public.

Time for a Royal Commission to hold those responsible for the waste of public money and an out-of-control fire ant infestation to account.

31 January 2022