Inquiry hears eradication of insect is possible in Australia
Farmers in New South Wales are urging the government to learn from the varroa mite outbreak when it comes to the treatment of fire ants. At a public hearing in Newcastle concerns were expressed about how the pest might be controlled. Experts say eradication is possible, but it would come at a huge expense.
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00:00 For many, it feels like history repeating itself.
00:07 After almost two years of dealing with Varroa mite, concerns are growing about another invasive
00:11 pest - the red imported fire ant.
00:14 You can pick any sort of plant or animal activity you like, this pest has a serious impact.
00:21 It's been in Australia for 20 years, but has recently spread from Queensland to northern
00:26 New South Wales.
00:28 This pest could be in Newcastle or Sydney by Christmas, the rate it's going.
00:32 Varroa mite was first detected in Newcastle in June 2022 and quickly spread.
00:37 Eradication efforts were abandoned late last year in favour of a management plan.
00:42 Activists hope lessons have been learnt, now there's a new pest to tackle.
00:47 There was just this kill everything approach to it and that is really, really disturbing.
00:52 This mass fear of these ants, we've just got to question whether it's worth, you know,
00:57 killing our environment for.
00:59 At a hearing in Newcastle, the country's biosecurity was questioned.
01:04 Every day there's passengers coming in through our airports, through our shipping terminals,
01:08 containers, all these other risks come in and they virtually get in scot free.
01:14 The inquiry heard from an American entomologist who's been studying the invasive species for
01:19 25 years.
01:20 He said while it could cost hundreds of millions of dollars to eradicate the pest, the price
01:26 of inaction was far worse.
01:28 If allowed to spread, scientists warn the total damages across Australia could reach
01:33 more than $60 billion in 30 years.
01:37 We project that the combined damage to agriculture, recreation and tourism will exceed 1.5% of
01:42 Australia's GDP.
01:44 Since the detections, NSW DPI has worked with the National Fire Ant Program team on the
01:49 response, undertaking tracing, compliance, surveillance and this remains our ongoing
01:55 focus.
01:57 More hearings will be held in Canberra over the next two weeks.
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