![Fire ants are a problem for the agriculture and tourism sectors, and in every day life. Picture supplied Fire ants are a problem for the agriculture and tourism sectors, and in every day life. Picture supplied](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/37sRjZccYfaNxXbGxARzun2/66c9f49c-18a4-4d26-8f13-f56598a66a79.jpg/r0_0_708_466_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Australia could be stuck with fire ants forever, environmentalists say, after the nation's governments failed to commit significant funding to their eradication and it will be every-day Australians who live with the consequences.
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The persistent pest was first discovered in Brisbane Port more than two decades ago. Their stings can kill people or livestock and their insatiable hunger can wipe out entire native ecosystems, turning bustling bushland silent.
In the first face-to-face meeting of the nation's Agriculture Ministers in three years, the federal and state governments agreed to bring forward $60 million already allocated to fight the pest over the next 12 months.
The figure falls well short of the required amount according to a 2021 government report, which found $200 to 300 million was required every year over 10 years eradicate fire ants in south-east Queensland.
The Invasive Species Council had high hopes that after two years of delays, the meeting would provide genuine leadership and a serious funding package.
But instead of a funding boost, the government reduced the annual spend by one-third, spokesperson Reece Pianta said.
"A fire ant invasion will be much worse than the cane toad," Mr Pianta said.
"They will devastate our native wildlife and cause billions of dollars in lost agricultural production every year.
"In Queensland we are already seeing sports fields and beaches closed due to the extremely painful sting inflicted by fire ants."
The ants have already breached containment lines in Queensland, and Mr Pianta said the government's funding cut all but guaranteed fire ants would cross the Tweed River into NSW and spread west through the Murray-Darling Basin.
"Modelling suggests that if fire ants spread across the continent they could cause over 100,000 extra hospital visits in Australia every year," Mr Pianta said.
"In Queensland we are already seeing sports fields and beaches closed due to the extremely painful sting inflicted by fire ants."
Agriculture Minister Murray Watt couldn't put a dollar figure on what the spend would be in future years, because each government had to go through its budget processes first.
"But I can assure you that the ministers are united in the need to take serious action on this and make sure that it doesn't spread any further," Senator Watt said.
Liberal leader Peter Dutton said Labor had "dropped the ball" and the fire ant invasion had spiralled into a serious issue, which was threatening to close Gold Coast beaches.