Victoria announces eradication funding

Great news – the Victorian Government has announced this week that they will help fund a full fire ant eradication program. The Victorian Agriculture Minister, Jaala Pulford, announced in her release that an additional $19.2 million over four years will go towards a ten-year national plan to eradicate the invasive and deadly red fire ant. Fire ants cause significant damage, placing the health of livestock, farm workers and the environment at risk. Victoria is now the first state to announce funding for the project not dependant on other states coming on board – but the program will only be viable if every state contributes. The Invasive Species Council met with Departmental and Ministerial representatives in Melbourne last month as part of the national fire ant emergency tour and the Melbourne public event was one of the best attended anywhere in Australia. You can read the full release here: http://www.premier.vic.gov.au/protecting-jobs-through-better-biosecurity/ To stay up to date on the work of the Invasive Species Council you can sign up to our e-mail list here: www.invasives.org.au