A Murwillumbah landscape business manager has criticised what he called poor communications concerning bio-security orders after fire ants had been detected in the Northern NSW town on Saturday.
On November 25 three fire ants nests were located on Tweed Council property being developed as an industrial land sub-division, with all earthworks and landscaping sub-contracted as part of the approved development application in the new industrial estate at Quarry Road, South Murwillumbah, 13 km south of the Queensland / NSW border.
Murwillumbah Landscape Supplies manager Alan Love said the business which is located 1 km from where fire ants were found, was only informed that afternoon via social media their business was under a biosecurity order and they had to cease selling organic matter and hiring out machinery.
The biosecurity order has restricted all businesses and residents within that radius regarding potential fire ant carrier materials without permission which includes mulch, wood-chips, compost, sand, gravel, soil, hay and other baled products.
"A lot of our product comes from Queensland and so has a health bio-security certificate," he said.
"We opened up as normal on Saturday morning but when we learned from someone who saw a post on social media by MP Justine Elliot there was a biosecurity order issued, then we stopped selling immediately.
"We have been turning away customers ever since."
Mr Love said no-one from NSW DPI or council has contacted them directly about the issue including timelines of the bio-security order.
"We just had some council workers come in and cancel some machinery hire, but nothing official," he said.
"We can't send out any excavators, bobcats or kangas (mini loaders).
Nearby landscape businesses we have spoken with nearby are in the same boat, Mr Love said.
"No-one seems to have made an effort, we have seen no paperwork or individual officials," he said.
"Other businesses we have spoken to have said the same thing - communications on this issue has been terrible."
Mr Love said it's the latest in a number of challenges businesses in the region have faced over the past five years.
"We had the floods in 2017, COVID lockdown, floods in 2022 and now fire ants," he said.
"Clear directions are needed because we need to know how long this biosecurity order will go for, is it two weeks or will it be longer, we are in the dark.
"I have 12 full-time staff we have to pay no matter what, so this massive impact on only on us but also our customers.
"It's $60 each health certificate so if we have to add this to every order every time we send a machine out then it's going to cost our customers more."
National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program (NRIFAEP) manager Graeme Dudgeon, said the team while operated by the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries Queensland, could be deployed anywhere across the country.
Mr Dudgeon said his team were searching for the NSW fire ants "ground zero."
"The first fire ant nest reported may not be the ground zero nest as they could have spread," he said.
"Out standard is for rapid destruction protocol.
"We look at the first report, do surveillance on how extensive the ants are, look at tracing what kind of material may have brought them here, as this is how the majority of fire ants travel long distances..
"This nest is 20 km from the closest know detection point in Queensland at Tallebudgera on the Gold Coast so it's unlikely they have flown from there."
Mr Dudgeon said while fire ants can theoretically fly 5km, 98 per cent would be unable to fly for over 2 km.
He said once the immediate nest site had been evaluated then the team would expand their surveillance and expand the zones out to 500m, then out to 2km and 5km.
Mr Dudgeon said he understood local businesses were facing economic impact and it was important they could get back up and running as soon as they had been cleared.
Member for Richmond Justine Elliot said on Saturday she spoke with the Federal Minister for Agriculture, Murray Watt, the NSW Minister for Agriculture, Tara Moriarty and the Tweed Mayor, Chris Cherry.
"Following the public release of the NSW Agriculture Minister's media release, I conveyed this important information on my MP Facebook page," she said.
"Meanwhile, Tweed Shire Council confirmed it was working closely with state and federal government authorities after red imported fire ants were identified on a vacant council-owned block of land."
The NSW DPI is leading the control, tracing, and communications by implementing an emergency biosecurity order across a radius of 5 km from the site in South Murwillumbah.
Fines for breaches of the biosecurity order can reach up to $1.1 million for an individual and up to $2.2 million for a corporation.
Known to be highly adaptive, fire ants can be transported in organic material and on their own can travel over and under ground, fly up to 5 km and raft on waterways after floods or wet weather events.
At Rathdowney Turf Farm general manager Madeleine Lamrock said they were keeping up to date with bio-security issues on both sides of the border after the fire ants were confirmed just over 53 km south.
"Our main turf produce facility is out of the biosecurity zone," she said.
"Of course fire ants are an issue for the turf industry.
"We have plant health certificates when we send turf over the border."
Ms Lamrock said their turf was sprayed every 42 days to prevent insects being transported with deliveries.
Cr Cherry said council was following the direction of the NFAEP, supported by the NSW Department of Primary Industries (NSW DPI), who are the lead agencies in the fight against fire ant infestation.
"Our business development team are following up with those impacted business to ensure they have the information and support they needed," shes said.
"At the moment council is concentrating on our efforts to try to make sure the economic impact is minimised.
"We are ensuring all the impacted business within the control zone and DPI have set up a hub outside council offices so business owners can go in and talk directly to staff access everything they need to know."
Under the direction of the lead agencies, Cr Cherry said council will assist to enforce any rules around fire ant detection and eradication in the Tweed, including notification of surrounding businesses.
Tweed Shire Council has been working closely with the NSW DPI since fire ants were detected at Tallebudgera on the Gold Coast, close to the NSW-Queensland border, earlier this year.
Leader of The Nationals and Shadow Agriculture Minister David Littleproud said confirmation red imported fire ants have been found in NSW for the first time proves Labor was too slow to act.
Mr Littleproud warned more than a month ago that Labor's $268 million over four years in federal funding to eradicate fire ants risked not being enough.
"Fire ants could also devastate wildlife and cut agricultural output by up to 40 per cent," he said.
"The Response Plan in July said $592 million was required over the next four years to control the pest, including immediate funding for 2023-24."
"The National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program strategic review also estimated that at least $200 to $300 million per year was required.
"It has been obvious for some time the funding was not going to be enough. The lack of action and the delays in funding undermined previous work that had been done under the Coalition Government to control fire ants."
Mr littleproud said the Invasive Species Council warned red imported fire ants were at risk of spreading beyond current containment zones.
"The Commonwealth should have been showing leadership on this issue but continued to drag the chain," he said.
"This latest development shows fire ants could now spread through the whole country.
"The Nationals have long been warning the spread of fire ants will cost our economy $2 billion annually and there could be more than 140,000 extra medical visits every year.
Anyone who suspects fire ants on their property is urged not to disturb the nest but to report the activity to the NSW DPI by calling 1800 680 244.
Know more about this issue? Contact Alison Paterson on 0437 861 082 or via alison.paterson@austcommunitymedia.com.au
