Money sought to continue momentum on Yellow Crazy Ant eradication

After visiting the site of aerial baiting activities in Edmonton this week, Leichhardt MP, Warren Entsch, will share the success of the Wet Tropics Management Authority’s activities in Canberra in a bid to secure additional funding for the program.

Mr Entsch was told that twelve months ago he wouldn’t have been able to stand in the cane paddock he inspected without hordes of ants climbing his legs.

Lucy Karger, YCA eradication project manager, said that looking at maps today compared to 12 months ago showed areas where the creatures were totally gone from.

“This is not by accident – it has happened because of the absolute commitment of Lucy and her team, and the efforts of people who have come together in the community such as Frank Teodo and residents of Russett Park near Kuranda,” Mr Entsch said.

According to the Invasive Species Council website, it’s anticipated that if the ant invasion is thorough, much of the Wet Tropics fauna will be affected.

Direct impacts will come through predation and harassment, and indirect impacts through removal of invertebrate prey, and disruption of ecological processes such as decomposition, pollination, and seed dispersal.

“The potential for knock-on effects in a system as complex and interconnected as the Wet Tropics rainforest is very high,” it said, adding that crops such as sugarcane, macadamia, mango, and coconut, were also affected, due to the ants’ tendency for sap-sucking insects and killing the predators of crop pests.

A draft 2012 cost-benefit analysis by the Queensland government, which considered only limited impacts on agriculture and domestic dwellings, found that costs would range from $115 million to over $3 billion if the ants were not treated.

People have had their new air conditioning units burnt out from ants nesting in it; cane farmers describe growing cane in heavily infested areas as “money-losing”, and people have been temporarily blinded by ants spraying formic acid their eyes.

Mr Entsch said the milestones being reached in the north were in stark contrast to the situation at Christmas Island, which he visited recently as part of the Northern Australia Committee’s tourism inquiry.

“They have a major issue with these creatures at Christmas Island where they’ve decimated the native red crab population and other wildlife but they’ve decided to only aim for containment.

“That means to say these creatures will be there forever. Here in Cairns the team has gone for eradication and they are actually writing the rulebook on how to achieve that.

“Unfortunately we live in a world where there are always going to be these threats, given the mobility of people and the mobility of goods.

“However the best practice that is being established through this process by Lucy and her team will enable other communities to face these challenges without starting from scratch.”

Mr Entsch commended their “absolute commitment” following WTMA’s announcement that eradication has been achieved at two sites near Cairns, with a third expected by the end of this year.

“What we’re seeing today is the helicopter going over those remnant areas of forest dropping baits very selectively, targeting these creatures, which have caused horror stories in the past for residents and landholders in the area,” he said.

He secured a $7.5 million, three-year funding package through the federal government during the 2016 election campaign, but this funding expires at the end of June 2019.

“There is a lot of work that has been done already, a significant amount of success, and you can see huge areas on the maps where Yellow Crazy Ants no longer exist - but there’s more to be done,” he said.

“We need to maintain momentum because you only need to miss one colony and we’ll take a massive step backwards, given the rate that these pests can overrun areas.

“Containment is not an option; total eradication in the Wet Tropics World Heritage Area is our goal.”