Australia could eradicate fire ants but program needs more money: report

The invasive species is currently only found in Queensland, but if it were to get out of control and spread, it would affect "everyone's way of life", Invasive Species Council chief executive Andrew Cox says.

In the southern states of the USA, fire ants are so abundant they have been known to eat young calves alive and their stings cause a couple of deaths a year.

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"There is not a part of life that's unaffected - whether it's water or infrastructure, farmland, your environment and wildlife, your backyard - it affects everything," Mr Cox said.

"When I visited [southern USA] I asked everyone I met about them, and everyone had a story to tell. They've just had to integrate fire ants into their lives."

The independent report commissioned by the National Steering Committee, which guides the national eradication program, is yet to be released publicly. But it's understood to recommend all governments increase funding to the program.

The joint-funded program was granted $411 million over 10 years in 2017. But in just five years, the program has spent more than half ($231.3m) of its budget.

Currently fire ants are found in south-east Queensland around Brisbane, Logan, Ipswich and the Lockyer Valley.

If left untreated, the fire ants are predicted to spread as far south as Canberra, west to Longreach and north to Bowen. Their ongoing precents would cost an estimated $1.65 billion annually to the economy.

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AgForce senior policy officer Marie Vitelli said although no other country had effectively eradicated the pest, Queensland seemed to be on the right path.

The ants are hard to contain because the females spread quickly, and can fly up to 5km from their existing nests to establish new ones.

"If fire ants get out of control, they would change our lifestyle and agricultural practices for good," Ms Vitelli said.

"The nest can be difficult to detect, especially in rural areas like paddocks, because there's no obvious opening at the top. But once they're disturbed they come out very defensive and their stings are quite painful to humans and animals.

"They're always looking for sources of protein. So when animals are calving, those animals and their calves are down they're vulnerable to attack. They'll even go after chickens, everything that's a source of food."

The ants are also an issue for horticulture, particularly in the Lockyer Valley. Aside from stinging labours as they harvest, crops found infected with the ants are often withheld from the market to prevent their spread.

The Commonwealth has indicated biosecurity would be a key priority in the upcoming budget, but is yet to reveal specific line items.