The Minns Labor Government’s disastrous response to red imported fire ants has again been highlighted, with the discovery of a nest at Tweed Heads.
NSW Nationals’ Leader Dugald Saunders said this latest biosecurity bungle on Minister Moriarty’s watch comes despite The Nationals calling for stronger action for the past two years.
“The government needs to focus on eradication and proper monitoring. We need to know if the ants have made their way deeper into NSW as a result of recent storm and flood events,” Mr Saunders said.
“Fire ants in NSW means billions of dollars’ worth of lost agricultural production every year, the destruction of our native wildlife, and our communities losing the freedom to use their backyards, parks, playgrounds, beaches, and sports fields. These are risks the government should not be willing to take.
“The Minns Labor Government has had multiple opportunities to protect our state from this harmful super pest, but it has failed at every hurdle,” Mr Saunders said.
Timeline:
August 2023: The NSW Nationals call on Minister Moriarty to do more to stop red imported fire ants from crossing the border. At that time, they were just 5.5km away. Those warnings were ignored.
November 2023: Red important fire ants made their way into NSW with nests found at South Murwillumbah. The NSW Nationals again call for a substantial response but was again ignored.
January 2024: Large infestation of red imported fire ants found at Wardell, 85 km south of the Queensland border. Ants were creating rafts and travelling through floodwaters.
July 2025: Nest of red imported fire ants found in Tweed Heads.
“We’re rapidly losing the battle from one pest to another here in NSW”
NSW Farmers’ Biosecurity Committee Chair Tony Hegarty said the repeated detections of fire ants in NSW were a clear sign of a colossal failure of current biosecurity measures.
“The danger that Red Imported Fire Ants present to people, animals and the environment could not be more extreme,” Mr Hegarty said.
“We’re rapidly losing the battle from one pest to another here in NSW, and the way we’re going, fire ants could well be the next threat our government fails to control.”
Mr Hegarty called on the state government to ensure every resource was available to eradicate the ants as soon as possible.
“Current biosecurity measures clearly aren’t doing the job, and while we’ve got $100 million in new biosecurity funding, this one pest alone could cost us $60 billion over the next 30 years,” Mr Hegarty said.
“The NSW Government needs to get real on border biosecurity and properly vet high-risk materials coming into our borders, or else these ants are only going to keep marching on in until it’s all too late.”
