The National Fire Ant Eradication Program’s National Management Group (NMG) held its first meeting under new governance arrangements.
The NMG recognised the significant ongoing efforts by the Program to eradicate fire ants from Australia under the new Response Plan 2023–2027 and acknowledged the ongoing commitment from all state and territory governments and the Commonwealth Government. It was updated on the ongoing cross-border actions to manage fire ant detections in Murwillumbah and Wardell, in northern NSW, as well as the fire ant detection on Minjerribah, Queensland. Responses for each site have been developed in accordance with the Program’s standard operating procedures and are being implemented.
The NMG also noted the substantial amount of work the Program has completed to bring the Program back on track following the recent extraordinary wet weather events in South East Queensland. The treatment schedule has been adjusted based on these delays and this will continue to be monitored closely by the Program’s leadership board and the NMG.
The NMG was provided with an overview of the work undertaken by the Program to increase fire ant compliance capability as a key deliverable as outlined in the Fire Ant Response Plan 2023-27. Recognising the importance of curbing human assisted movement as part of eradication efforts, recruitment of additional compliance officers in the Program is underway and will increase the size of the compliance team four-fold.
The NMG noted the work undertaken by the Program to address and implement recommendations from the 2021 Strategic Review of the Program. The NMG and the Program acknowledged the work of the previous Steering Committee and thanked members for their efforts under the previous eradication plan. The Strategic Review recommendations have individually been addressed and have shaped the development of the Fire Ant Response Plan 2023–27.