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National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program – South East Queensland

Monthly report – November 2017

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Steering Committee Monthly Report for November 2017 1

Monthly Summary The National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program in South East Queensland (the National Program) operates under the Ten Year Eradication Plan (the Ten Year Plan). The 2017–18 Work Plan outlines the annual activities to be undertaken by the National Program.

The National Program’s main focus in November 2017 was to implement planned treatment, specifically with the aim to continue round one of planned eradication treatment. The National Program is endeavouring to ensure that treatment can be conducted within required timeframes; for instance, in November a contract was awarded for a new aerial charter to conduct aerial operations seven days a week.

During November 2017, new infestations were confirmed in 10 new grids (1 km x 1 km). As a comparison, new infestation grids confirmed for August, September and October 2017 numbered 27, 9 and 33, respectively.The map at Appendix 2 to this report shows the new infestation grids confirmed in November are located across the Ten Year Plan operational area. No new infestation was found outside the operational area.

The National Program also undertook responsive treatment on newly confirmed infestations. The insecticide fiprinol was injected in 1,319 nests with bait treatment applied to 288 hectares. The National Program is tracking within budget for this activity with a total of 31.64% of the 2017–18 budget for direct nest injection and just over 8.16% of the responsive bait treatment budget expended to date.

A total of 537 hectares of delineation surveillance was also conducted during November 2017. This “responsive” surveillance is undertaken around new infestation in order to determine the extent and severity of the infestation and limits the need to return to the same area to treat subsequently detected nests. A total of 10,000 hectares are budgeted for delineation surveillance for 2017-18. As at the end of November 2017, 29.63% of the delineation surveillance has been undertaken for 2017-18, which indicates that the National Program is tracking within budget for this activity as well.

In November 2017, the National Program undertook planned targeted surveillance in the ‘target surveillance zone’ on the perimeter of the known South East Queensland (SEQ) infested area. To date, 1570 hectares of planned surveillance has been completed which amounts to 31.4% of the total planned surveillance area for 2017–18. The purpose of targeted surveillance is to proactively detect any infestation that is beyond the planned treatment areas so as to prevent further spread of infestation outside the known infested area.

Seventeen target sentinel sites are to be surveyed in 2017-2018. There was one site surveyed during November with no infestations detected.

National Program ramp up activities continued including negotiations for new staff accommodation, procurement of services and supplies, and staff recruitment. In November 2017, negotiations continued to relocate the National Program’s Moggill and Richlands offices to suitable premises in Berrinba, with existing contracts extended at Richlands and Moggill until 31 March 2018. Western satellite depot sites have also been selected during November 2017. Mutdapilly and Laidley are operational. Negotiations are underway to establish a permanent satellite site in the Lockyer Valley. Eastern sites are still being investigated to identify a suitable location.

Contract field supervisors were engaged and trained, and field officer positions are being engaged (multiple intakes) during October and November 2017. Staff positions have been advertised during November 2017 and will continue through December 2017. Operational training and an induction program for field staff has been reviewed and rolled out.

Significant work was undertaken for the National Program Steering Committee meeting scheduled for 17 November 2017, which included the provision of all reports to date, agenda papers, presentations, speaking points and the preparation for the field trip prior to this meeting.

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Treatment Refer to the map of completed treatment in Appendix 1

Planned eradication treatment

Target: total 252 000 hectares

Expected completion date

Total hectares completed

(YTD)

% of total treatment area

completed

Status QA checked and comment

84 000 hectares (Round 1)

Jan 2018 15 591 18.56% Commenced 24 October

2017

QA position not appointed


Apr 2018 Not commenced

0% To commence February 2018



Jun 2018 Not commenced

0% To commence May 2018


Planned suppression treatment



Hectares completed

(YTD)


completed




0 To commence February 2018




0 To commence May 2018


Responsive bait treatment Amount of treatment budgeted for (hectares)

Locations treated (hectares) (month)

Locations treated (hectares) (YTD)

% of budget allocation actioned

QA checked and comment

10 000 288 816 8.16% QA position not appointed

Responsive direct nest injection (DNI) treatment Number of DNIs budgeted 2017–18

Number of nests injected (month)

Number of nests injected (YTD)

% of budget allocation actioned (YTD)

24 000 1319 8220 34.25%

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New infestation1

Refer to the infestation map in Appendix 2

Total number of grids with fire ant present (start of month)

New grids (month) New grids (YTD) Total number of grids (end of month)

1572 10 145 1582

Significant detections outside operational area Number of significant detections (month) Number of significant detections (YTD)

0 Lowood (2017) Beaudesert (2017)

Surveillance Planned targeted surveillance2

Area target Expected completion date/status

Hectares completed

(month)

Hectares completed

(YTD)3

% of total targeted

surveillance area

completed (YTD)4

Status QA checked and

comment

Area 1

2,500 ha

Jun 2018 0 933 18.66% Commenced July 2017

QA position not

appointed

SEQ

2,500 ha


QA Position not

appointed

5000 ha 15 1570 31.4%

Planned sentinel site surveillance5

Target: total 17 sentinel sites Number of sentinel sites surveyed (month)

Number of sentinel sites with fire ant present

(month)

Number of sentinel sites with fire ant present / total

number of sites (YTD)

17 1 0 2

1 Grids cannot be cleared of fire ants until clearance activities have occurred. Clearance activities won’t commence until intensive eradication activities are complete for Area 1 (2019–20). A grid shown to be clear of an infestation does not indicate surveillance has been undertaken for it to have this status.

2 Surveillance zone is located 3 kilometres inside of the boundary of the Operational Area 3 Cumulative YTD figure 4 Calculated on a total target of 5000 hectares 5 Surveillance of sentinel sites will be undertaken twice per financial year and only in the cooler months.

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Responsive/delineation surveillance6

Budgeted hectares of delineation surveillance. Target: new detections receive the minimum required amount of delineation surveillance (hectares)

Hectares subject to responsive / delineation

surveillance (month)*

Hectares subject to responsive / delineation surveillance

(YTD)**

Percentage budgeted

surveillance completed


10 000 537 2963 29.63% QA Position not appointed

Post treatment validation surveillance (PTVS) Target: PTVS on all outlier detections, significant detections and outlying infestation7

Total hectares of PTVS (month) Total hectares of PTVS (YTD)

N/A 8 209

Preventing human-assisted spread Compliance checks Refer to the map of compliance checks in Appendix 3

Total number (month)

Number of infested site

checks (month)

Number of suburb

monitoring checks (month)

Number of targeted8(month)

Number of follow ups

(month)

Cases of minor non-compliancedetected9(month)

Cases of serious non-compliance

detected10

Total number (YTD)

35 4 15 14 2 4 0 136

Investigations Total active investigations start of month

Number of new investigations11 (month)

Number of investigations

completed (month)

Total active investigations

(month)

Completed investigations

(YTD)

0 0 0 0 2

Summary of investigations:

No investigations are currently underway.

6 Undertaken in the area surrounding the site of the nest injection and at the same time responsive bait treatment is applied. 7 As per National Program protocols 8 Captures BIPs, issued instruments, treatment GBO, compliance initiatives 9 Potential ‘follow up’ cases 10 These are subject to investigation and captured under Investigations (as above) 11 Reflects serious non-compliance cases under investigation

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Communication and engagement Program engagement

Target (month) Actual (month) Target (year) Actual (YTD)

School program School visits 8 2 80 31

Students attending

750 280 7500 4007

General awareness training (includes both industry and community)

Training sessions provided

8 6 96 32

Number of trainees

200 169 2400 1000

Events attend (event season Mar–Sep)

Number of events attended

4 11 50 27

People directly engaged

2000 477 24 000 13007

Public reports (diagnostics)

Total suspect samples of ants collected (November 2017)

484

Suspect samples of ants collected by the public

362

Suspect samples of ants collected by the public that tested positive for fire ants

220 (64%)

Positive samples collected by the public as a proportion of total suspect samples

45%

Budget Budget* Budget (YTD) $ Actual (month) $ Actual (YTD) $ YTD variance

surplus/deficit $

Total 12,233,781 2,870,936 7,978,883 4,254,898

Budget amount does include $382K set aside to offset expenses incurred in 2016-17 for ramp up activities

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The following pie charts illustrate the November 2017 and year to date expenditure by activity.

Figure 1: Proportion of expenditure by National Program activity in November 2017

Figure 2: Proportion of expenditure by National Program activity in 2017–18 to date

Directorate1% Science

4%

Planned and responsive eradication

64%

Ramp up activities3%

Administration, procurement, WH&S, HR

9%

Community, engagement3%

IT development6%

Planning, QA6%

Policy2%

RSS R&D0%

Compliance2% MTD Actual

Directorate1%

Science7%


44%

Ramp up activities

7%

Administration, procurement, WH&S, HR

15%

Community, engagement5%

IT development6%

Planning, QA8%

Policy3%

RSS R&D1% Compliance

3%

YTD ACT

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National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program – South East Queensland Monthly Report – December 2017

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Steering Committee Monthly Report for December 2017 2

Monthly Summary The following highlights are drawn from the data presented in the December 2017 Monthly Report on the implementation and progress of the 2017–18 Work Plan and Ten Year Eradication Plan for the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program in South East Queensland (National Program).

In December 2017, substantial progress was made on the National Program’s planned eradication treatment plan with more than half of the total treatment area for Round One now complete.

Suppression treatment by aerial charter of priority areas 2–4 will commence late January 2018. Four helicopters operating 7 days a week will be utilised to carry out suppression and planned treatment.

New infestation (total grids at start of month: n=1,582): Ten new infestation grids were located within the Ten Year Plan’s operational boundary, with infested grids now totaling 1,592 at the end of December 2017. There were no detections of new infestations outside this area. Appendix 2 to this report illustrates the locations of all new infestation grids.

Responsive bait treatment (target: 10,000 ha): Over the course of December 2017, responsive bait treatment was applied to 313 hectares (ha), which brings the total area treated to date to 1,129 ha or 11.3%. Furthermore, 706 nests were treated with fiprinol via direct nest injection (DNI) and year-to-date expenditure on DNIs remains well within budget with 42% of the budget expensed to date.

Ground “buffering” treatment around occupied dwellings where aerial treatment is not permitted remains behind schedule with only five teams available to conduct these activities. While the National Program is aiming to complete buffering by the end of February 2018, the volume of public call outs for investigating suspect cases continues to compete for these resources.

Targeted surveillance (target: 5,000 ha): Activities were not conducted in Area 1 over December 2017 with the year-to-date area surveyed remaining at 933 ha. However, activity increased in SEQ with an additional 8 ha surveyed. The total number of hectares surveyed to date across Area 1 and SEQ is 1,578 ha (31.6%).

Responsive Delineation Surveillance (target: 10,000 ha): An additional 477 ha was surveyed in December 2017 with just over 34% of the total delineation surveillance area charted to date.

Ramp-up activity: Two senior positions were previously approved to be advertised although recruitment processes were delayed due to caretaker conventions as a result of the November state election. In addition, advertising for two management positions and a compliance officer position was approved in December. The proposed co-location of Moggill and Richlands staff to a new site is subject to ongoing negotiations, with the planned date for staff relocation moved to April 2018. Timing of the move is dependent on when the current tenant will vacate the new premises. Negotiations to secure satellite sites for Area 1 are also underway.

The National Program continues to work with the Australian organic industry peak body the Organic Industry Standards and Certification Council (the Organic Industry Council) and the Commonwealth Department of Agriculture and Water Resources to change the status of the insect growth regulating bait Engage® (s-methoprene) to that of an allowable input for certified organic production. Allowable inputs for certified organic produce in Australia are described in the National Standard for Organic and Bio-Dynamic Produce.

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Treatment Planned eradication treatment



Total hectares completed

(YTD)


completed



Jan 2018 47 393 56.42% Commenced 24 October

2017




0% To commence February 2018




0% To commence May 2018


Planned suppression treatment Target: total 64 000 hectares


Hectares completed

(YTD)


completed




0% To commence January 2018




0% To commence April 2018


Responsive bait treatment Amount of treatment budgeted for (hectares)

Locations treated (hectares) (month)

Locations treated (hectares) (YTD)



10 000 313 1,129 11.29% QA position not appointed

Responsive direct nest injection (DNI) treatment Number of DNIs budgeted 2017–18

Number of nests injected (month)

Number of nests injected (YTD)

% of budget allocation actioned (YTD)

24 000 706 8926 34.58%

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New infestation1 Refer to the infestation map in Appendix 2

Total number of grids with fire ant present (start of month)

New grids (month) New grids (YTD) Total number of grids (end of month)

1582 10 155 1592

Significant detections outside operational area—PG&C Number of significant detections (month) Number of significant detections (YTD)

0 Lowood (2017) Beaudesert (2017)

Surveillance Planned targeted surveillance2

Target: total 5000 hectares (ha)

Expected completion date/status

Hectares completed

(month)

Hectares completed

(YTD)3

% of total targeted

surveillance area

completed (YTD)

Status QA checked and

comment

Area 1:

2,500 ha

Jun 2018 0 933

18.66% Commenced July 2017

QA position not

appointed

SEQ:

2,500 ha


QA Position not

appointed

5000 ha 8 1578 31.56% - -

Planned sentinel site surveillance4 Target: total 17 sentinel sites Number of sentinel sites

surveyed (month) Number of sentinel sites

with fire ant present (month)

Number of sentinel sites with fire ant present / total

number of sites (YTD)

17 0 0 2

1 Grids cannot be cleared of fire ants until clearance activities have occurred. Clearance activities won’t commence until intensive

eradication activities are complete for Area 1 (2019–20). A grid shown to be clear of an infestation does not indicate surveillance has been undertaken for it to have this status.

2 Surveillance zone is located 3 kilometres inside of the boundary of the Operational Area. 3 Cumulative YTD figure 4 Surveillance of sentinel sites will be undertaken twice per financial year and only in the cooler months.

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Responsive/delineation surveillance5 Budgeted hectares of delineation surveillance. Target: new detections receive the minimum required amount of delineation surveillance (hectares)


surveillance (month)*


surveillance (YTD)

Percentage budgeted

surveillance completed


10 000 477 3,440 34.4% QA Position not appointed

Post treatment validation surveillance (PTVS) Target: PTVS on all outlier detections6 Total hectares of PTVS (month) Total hectares of PTVS (YTD)

N/A 75 284

Preventing human-assisted spread Compliance checks Refer to the map of compliance checks in Appendix 3

Total number (month)


checks (month)

Number of suburb

monitoring checks (month)

Number of targeted7 (month)

Number of follow ups

(month)

Number of minor non-

compliance8 (month)

Number of serious

non-compliance9

Total number (YTD)

24 0 11 9 4 1 0 160

Investigations Total active investigations start of month

Number of new investigations10 (month)

Number of investigations

completed (month)


(month)

Completed investigations

(YTD)

0 1 0 1 2

Summary of investigations: An engineering and construction company has notified the National Program that one of their subcontractors had inadvertently moved soil from Thornlands to Brendale and Chermside (both outside the fire ant biosecurity zones). Preliminary investigations undertaken by the National Program determined it was a small amount of soil and that it had been moved by a subcontractor as backfill in National Broadband Network (NBN) trenches. The company voluntarily treated the soil. Treatment will be repeated in early February 2018. Advisory letters will be sent to the company and the subcontractor involved.

5 Undertaken in the area surrounding the site of the nest injection and at the same time responsive bait treatment is applied. 6 As per National Program protocols 7 Captures BIPs, issued instruments, treatment GBO, compliance initiatives 8 These will result in a potential ‘follow up’ 9 These will be referred to the Investigations section of the report 10 This will capture the serious non-compliance as above

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Communication and engagement Program engagement



Students attending

0 0 7500 4007



8 5 96 37

Number of trainees

200 154 2400 1154



4 3 50 30


2000 216 24 000 13223

Public reports (diagnostics)

Total suspect samples of ants collected (December 2017)

277

Suspect samples of ants collected by the public 234

Suspect samples of ants collected by the public that tested positive for fire ants

149 (63.7%)

Positive samples collected by the public as a proportion of total suspect samples

53.8%

Budget Budget Budget (YTD) $ Actual (month) $ Actual (YTD) $ YTD variance

surplus/deficit $

Total 15,715,535 3,280,929 11,263,514 4,452,021

* Budget amount does include $382K set aside to offset expenses incurred in 2016-17 for ramp up activities.

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The following pie-charts illustrate the December 2017 and year to date expenditure by activity.

Figure 1: Pie chart shows proportion of expenditure by National Program activity in December 2017

Figure 2: Pie chart shows proportion of expenditure by National Program activity in 2017-18 to date

Directorate1%

Science6%


52%

Ramp up activities

6%

Administration, procurement, WH&S,

HR13%

Community, engagement

5%

IT development5%

Planning, QA7%

Policy2%

RSS R&D0%

Compliance3%

YTD ACT

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National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program – South East Queensland Monthly Steering Committee Report – April 2018

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Monthly Steering Committee Report – April 2018 1

Monthly Highlights The following highlights relate to the implementation and progress of the 2017–18 Work Plan and Ten Year Eradication Plan for the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program in South East Queensland (the Program) during April 2018:

Area 1: Eradication treatment and fire ant responsive nest destruction (total area 252 000 ha over three rounds) – At the end of April 2018, 96% of Area 1 was treated under the first round of treatment (Appendix 1), and 79% of Area 1 had been treated under the second round of treatment (Appendix 2) with progress assisted by warmer than usual temperatures and lower than average rainfall. Given the size of the geographic area to be treated, it is not unexpected for some sites in Area 1 to have received sub-optimal application of treatment in both rounds so far. These sites have been identified and the Program has introduced a number of prioritised measures to mitigate the impacts of sub-optimal treatment delivery in these locations. Twenty nests were also destroyed by direct nest injection during April bringing the number of nests destroyed in Area 1 to 571, to date.

Areas 2, 3 & 4: Planned suppression and responsive fire ant nest destruction - Round 1 of Suppression treatment over Areas 2, 3 and 4 (target 64 000 ha over two rounds) commenced in January 2018 and has been applied to 3.3% of the total area. In the western suppression area 0.7% of treatment was applied along the area adjacent to Area 1. An additional 1610 nests were destroyed by direct nest injection in April to bring the total number of nests destroyed for 2017–18 to 15 810.

Boundary Management: Surveillance – Targeted surveillance activity of the 2 to 5 km zone surrounding Area 1 has also been completed ahead of schedule (i.e. before the end of June 2018). Only 121 ha surrounding Area 1 remained to be surveyed and this was achieved during April 2018. Surveillance of one quarter (24.6%) of the total target area surrounding Areas 2 to 4 (2500 ha), and an additional 1468 ha outside of the operational boundary has been undertaken to date.

New detections (total grid squares showing infestation at start of month: n=1650): Thirty new areas with fire ant infestation were detected throughout the Operational Area during April 2018. A further three areas with infestation were detected in the Lockyer Valley shire on the verge of the Operational Area’s western border. The locations of these infestations appear on the map at Appendix 3.

Significant Detections: In April 2018, significant detections of fire ants were reported at Thornton and Blenheim. A report on each detection is being prepared for the Steering Committee’s information.

Update on investigations: In April 2018, the Program continued its investigation from the previous month of a private company transporting unprocessed soil, without a permit, from a construction site in the western suburbs to a location outside of the fire ant biosecurity zones. All parties were interviewed and the company has undertaken to change its policy so that it will comply in future. The destination site for the soil is being assessed for treatment by the Program.

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Area 11,2 Eradication treatment



Area treated (ha) YTD3

% of area treated


Round 1 84 000 hectares

Jan 2018 80 434 95.7% Commenced October 2017

Round 1 has been completed as noted at Steering Committee

Meeting 4. Aerial treatment halted early

Feb–2018; ground treatment halted 3rd week

of Mar–2018


Apr 2018 66 181 78.8% Commenced February 2018

– expected completion May 2018

Round 2 is on track to be completed by the end of treatment season. Aerial

treatment near completion. Final ground treatment will depend on

temperatures.


Jun 2018 Rescheduled to 2018–19

Not applicable

To commence 2018–19 To offset the reduction in planned treatment,

monitoring will be undertaken to ensure treatment has been

effective. Monitoring teams are being

established.

Areas 2, 3 & 4 Suppression treatment




% of area treated


Round 1 32 000 ha

Apr 2018 1063 3.3% Some ground treatment was completed in the Eastern suppression area in early

2018.

Round 1 is underway. Western aerial treatment commenced in

restricted flight zone for Amberley. Priority has been

given to completing treatments immediately adjacent to the internal eastern boundary of

Treatment Area 1.

1 From January 2018, all figures are calculated from spatial coverage data 2 Refer to Appendices 1 & 2 – Maps of completed treatment 3 Monthly and year-to-date (YTD) figures stated herein are at the creation date of this report. Some data for the reporting period may be forthcoming such

that YTD data can include data not stated in previous monthly reports but has since been entered into FAMS. 4 As per previous footnote

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% of area treated


Round 2 32 000 ha

Jun 2018 232 0.7% Not completed.

Round 2 delayed and

will commence next treatment

season

The small area treated relates to Round 2 of treatment in Area 1 that overlapped the boundary

of the western suppression area

Newly identified infestation5

Number of grid squares6 showing infestation

(start of month)

Infestations identified (Month)

Infestations identified (YTD)

Total number of grid squares showing infestation

(end of month)

1650 33 260 1683

Responsive direct nest injections (DNI) Phase Area Number of nests injected

(April 2018) Number of nests

injected YTD % of budget allocation

(24,000ha) actioned YTD)

Area 1 20 571 2.4%

Areas 2–4 1610 15 810 65.9%

Outside Operational Boundary 8 13 0%

Total 1638 16 394 68.3%

Public reports (Diagnostics) Number of

pubic reports received for April 2018

Number of public reports YTD

(a)

Suspect samples of ants collected from the public 488

(b) Suspect samples from (a) diagnosed as fire ants

748 5676 339

(c) Fire ants from (b) as a proportion of (a)

69%

5 Refer to Appendix 3 – Map of infestation. 6 Each grid square on the map at Appendix 3 depicts a 1km2 area of land infested with fire ants. These areas of land cannot be declared as clear of

infestation until clearance activity finds no evidence of live infestation. Clearance activity is not scheduled to commence in Area 1 until 2019–20.

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Boundary Management Planned targeted surveillance7

Area Target 5000 ha


Hectares surveyed (month)

Hectares surveyed

(YTD)

% of targeted area surveyed

(YTD)


Area 1 2500 ha

Jun 2018 121 2556 100% Commenced July 2017

Target met

Areas 2–4 2500 ha


Target on track

Outside Operational Boundary

216 1468 This relates to targeted surveillance sites that fall outside the Operational Boundary.

Responsive bait treatment Phased Area Hectares treated

(month) Hectares treated

(YTD) % of budget

allocation actioned (10,000 ha)


Area 1 228 328 3.3% Issues around data recorded for this target

are currently being investigated by the

Program.

Areas 2–4 558 2514 25.1% See above

Outside Operational Area Boundary

0 47 0.5% See above

Total 786 2842 28.4%

Post treatment validation surveillance Phased Area Total hectares of PTVS ha (month) Total hectares of PTVS ha (YTD)

Area 1 0 6.3

Areas 2–4 15 447

Outside Operational Boundary 2 25

7 Surveillance zone is located up to 5 kilometres inside of the Operational Area’s boundary. The objective of targeted surveillance is to monitor spread from the nearest detection to the Operational Boundary.

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Responsive/delineation surveillance8,9 Area Hectares subject to

surveillance (month)* Hectares subject to surveillance (YTD)**

% budget utilized (10,000

ha)


Area 1 8 552 5.5% Issues around data recorded for this target

are currently being investigated by the

Program.

Areas 2–4 628 5586 55.9% As above.

Outside Operational Boundary

0.4 1161 11.6% As above.

Total 636.4 7299 73%

Planned sentinel site surveillance10 Phased Areas (N=17 sites)

Total number of sentinel sites

Number of sentinel sites surveyed

(month)

Number of sentinel sites with fire ant present (month)

Number of sentinel sites with fire ant present / total number of sites

(YTD)

Area 1 (external to)11 7 0 0 0

Areas 2–4 (external to)

10 0 0 2

Total 17 0 0 2

Additional comments on sentinel site surveillance In March 2018, a decision was made to abandon the sentinel site at Keperra due to its inaccessibility by Program staff and odour detection dog teams to carry out surveillance. In view of this, the northern suburb of Warner has been included as a substitute sentinel location.


212 513

8 Undertaken in the area surrounding the site of the nest injection and at the same time responsive bait treatment is applied 9 2017–18 Target: new detections receive the minimum required amount of delineation surveillance (hectares) 10 Surveillance of sentinel sites will be undertaken twice per financial year and only in the cooler months 11 Sentinel Sites are almost always outside the Operational Boundary. Areas described are outside the external boundary of the Treatment Areas shown 12 April 2018: Thornton and Blenheim. 13 2017: Lowood and Beaudesert; 2018: Bridgeman Downs; Thornton; Blenheim

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Preventing human-assisted spread Compliance checks14

Total Compliance

checks (month)


checks (month)

Number of suburb

monitoring checks

(month)


Number of follow ups (month)


compliance16 (month)

Number of serious non-compliance17

Total Compliance

checks (YTD)

88 3 68 13 3 4 0 371

Investigations Total active investigations

start of month Number of new

investigations18 (month) Number of

investigations completed (month)


(month)

Completed investigations (YTD)

1 0 0 1 2

In April 2018, the Program continued its investigation from the previous month of a private company transporting unprocessed soil, without a permit, from a construction site in the western suburbs to a location outside of the fire ant biosecurity zones. All parties were interviewed and the company has undertaken to change its policy so that it will comply in future. The destination site for the soil is being assessed for treatment by the Program.

Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Program engagement



Students attending

500 273 7000 4249



7 5 80 56

Number of trainees

175 92 2000 1743



6 4 70 40


900 390 20 000

14 119

14 Refer to Appendix 4 – Map of compliance checks 15 Biosecurity Instrument Permits (BIP), issued instruments, treatment General Biosecurity Obligation (GBO), compliance initiatives 16 These will result in a potential ‘follow up’ 17 These will be referred to the Investigations section of the report 18 This will capture the serious non-compliance as above

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Budget19

Budget 2017–18

Budget (YTD) $ Actual (month) $ Actual (YTD) $ YTD variance surplus/deficit $

32 985 007 4 051 324 25 704 887 7 280 121

The following pie charts illustrate the April 2018 and year to date expenditure by activity.

Figure 1: Pie chart show proportion of expenditure by Program activity in April 2018

19 Budget amount does not include $382 000 set aside to offset expenses incurred in 2016–17 for ramp up activities.

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Figure 2: Pie chart shows proportion of expenditure by Program activity in 2017–18 to date

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Appendices Maps Appendix 1: Planned and responsive treatment completed to date (Round 1) at 30 April 2018 Appendix 2: Planned and responsive treatment completed to date (Round 2) at 30 April 2018 Appendix 3: Locations of fire ant infestations detected in April 2018 Appendix 4: Locations of compliance checks undertaken in April 2018

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National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program – South East Queensland Monthly Steering Committee Report – May 2018

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Monthly Steering Committee Report – May 2018 1

Monthly highlights The following highlights relate to the implementation and progress of the 2017–18 Work Plan and Ten Year Eradication Plan for the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program in South East Queensland (Program) during May 2018:

Area 1: Eradication treatment1 and responsive red imported fire ant (fire ant) nest destruction – At the end of May 2018, all planned eradication treatment was completed. Approximately 96% of the area designated for eradication treatment (84 000 ha) received the first round of treatment, with the second round of treatment subsequently applied across 95% of the same land area. Eleven nests in Area 1 were destroyed by direct nest injection. This brings the number of nests destroyed inside of Area 1 to 587 in 2017-18, to date. A map identifying the extent of treatment undertaken to date is provided at Appendices 1 and 2.

Areas 2, 3 & 4: Planned suppression treatment and responsive fire ant nest destruction – All planned suppression treatment was completed by the end of May 2018. The first round of suppression treatment, which commenced in January 2018, has been applied to 85% of Areas 2, 3 and 4 collectively. An additional 2106 nests were destroyed by direct nest injection to bring the total number of nests destroyed for 2017–18 in these Areas to 17 953.

Detections (total grid squares showing infestation at start of month: n=1683): Forty-eight additional areas with fire ant infestation were detected throughout the Operational Area during May 2018, and one new area was identified at Thornton in the Lockyer Valley to the west of the Operational Area boundary. This is the second Significant Detection at Thornton for this year with a report being prepared for the Steering Committee’s information. The locations of all areas where infestation has been found appear on the map at Appendix 3.

Boundary Management:

─ Planned targeted surveillance (annual targeted surveillance target: 5000 ha) – Planned targeted surveillance of Area 1 was completed ahead of schedule in April 2018. At the end of May 2018, the total surveillance target across all Areas has been exceeded as a result of additional surveillance sites being included in the winter 2018 surveillance season. The total area surveyed to date is now at 6091 hectares. Furthermore, there has been increased emphasis on surveillance of the Operational Area’s western periphery, which has been necessary to determine the extent of infestation spread beyond the eradication treatment area.

Responsive bait treatment and surveillance: To date, responsive bait treatment has been applied to 3525 hectares throughout the Operational Area. Delineation surveillance of 7941 hectares across all areas has been carried out over the year to date around nests detected. Some surveillance activity has also been undertaken outside of the Operational Boundary in response to the Significant Detection at Thornton.

1 The Steering Committee agreed to a revised treatment plan of 2 rounds of eradication treatment and 1 round of suppression treatment at its meeting of 10 May 2018.

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Update on investigations: In May 2018, visited was made to a poultry farm in response to a report of suspected fire ants on the farm’s premises. A live fire ant nest was found in the door jamb of a poultry shed on the property and further investigations revealed that the farm owners had not applied perimeter treatment around the poultry sheds in accordance with legislative requirements. A biosecurity order was issued to ensure that no further poultry manure was moved and that perimeter treatment was applied. Surveillance of all sites that had received poultry manure from the farm was then undertaken, which extended into New South Wales. Results of surveillance revealed that fire ants had not spread to any of the receiving sites as a result of this incident. The locations of all compliance checks undertaken by the Program during May 2018 appear on the map at Appendix 4.

Area 12 3 Eradication treatment




% of area treated



Jan 2018 80 464 95.8% Commenced Oct 2017 and

concluded Mar–2018

Aerial halted early Feb–2018, ground halted 3rd

week of Mar–2018


Apr 2018 79 622 94.8% Commenced Feb 2018 and

concluded May–2018

Aerial completed last week in May–2018.

Ground baiting switched to surveillance in

remaining areas at same time



Not applicable

To commence 2018–19 Not applicable

Additional comments on eradication treatment

Priority has been given to ensuring all areas have received at least one round of treatment or surveillance. Areas that have not received at least one round of treatment were prioritised for surveillance. All nests found during this surveillance were destroyed via direct nest injection.

2 From January 2018, all figures are calculated from spatial coverage data 3 Refer to Appendix 1 – Map of completed treatment 4 Monthly and year-to-date (YTD) figures stated herein are at the creation date of this report. Some data for the reporting period may be forthcoming such

that YTD data can include data not stated in previous monthly reports but has since been entered into FAMS.

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Areas 2, 3 & 4 Suppression treatment




% of area treated


Round 1 32 000 ha

Apr 2018 27 097 84.7% Commenced Jan–2018 and

concluded May-2018

Western aerial completed in last week of May–2018.

Surveillance has been carried out in buffering

areas

Round 2 32 000 ha

Jun 2018 251 0.8% To commence 2018-19

Additional comments on suppression treatment

Suppression treatment focused on the area to the east of the Area 1 treatment area and in the northern Gold Coast area. Areas that did not receive treatment were prioritised for surveillance activities.

Newly identified infestations6 Number of grid squares7

showing infestation (start of month)




(end of month)

1683 49 309 1732

Responsive Direct Nest Injections (DNI) Phase Area Number of nests injected

(May 2018) Number of nests

injected YTD % of budget allocation (24 000) actioned (YTD)

Area 1 11 587

77.3% Areas 2–4 2106 17 953

Outside 0 5

Total 2117 18 545

5 As per previous footnote 6 Refer to Appendix 2 – Map of infestation. 7 Each grid square on the map at Appendix 2 depicts a 1 km2 area of land infested with fire ants. These areas of land cannot be declared as clear of

infestation until clearance activity finds no evidence of live infestation. Clearance activity is not scheduled to commence in Area 1 until 2019–20.

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Public reports

Number of pubic reports received for

May 2018


(a)

Suspect samples of ants collected by the National Program and sourced from public reports

572


581 6255 435

(c)

Fire ants from (b) as a proportion of (a)

76%


Surveillance Zone9 (Target 5000 ha)



Hectares surveyed

(YTD)


(YTD)


Area 1 2500 ha


Refer to Additional Comments.

Areas 2–4 2500 ha


Outside 770 2238 - -

TOTAL 1401 6091 - -

Additional comments on Boundary Management

The winter 2018 surveillance season has commenced with an emphasis on surveillance of the Operational Area’s western periphery to determine the extent of spread towards and beyond the western boundary. Majority of targeted surveillance has been completed with the same or additional sites planned for the winter surveillance season in 2018. Areas 2-4 include surveillance of Chuwar (700ha) as an additional site, which was not previously targeted for surveillance.

8 Surveillance zone is located up to 5 km inside of the Operational Area’s boundary. The objective of targeted surveillance is to monitor spread from the

nearest detection to the Operational Boundary. 9 In some instances, the Area 1 and Area 2–4 surveillance zones may include adjoining areas outside the boundaries of Area 1 and the Operational Area.

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(month) Hectares treated (YTD)


(10 000 ha)


Area 1 159 488 4.9%

Areas 2–4 521 2990 29.9%

Outside 0 47 0.5% Majority of responsive bait treatment has been applied to the Significant

Detection at Thornton

Total 680 3525 35.3%

Additional comments on responsive bait treatment


Area 1 0 6

Areas 2–4 153 600

Outside 15 39


Post treatment validation surveillance is not a Program priority until priority areas enter into Stage 3: Search and Clearance phase, except for ensuring that treatment of Significant Detections has resulted in the destruction of the nest.

Responsive delineation surveillance10,11 Area Hectares subject

to surveillance (month)*

Hectares subject to surveillance (YTD)**


ha)


Area 1 14 566 5.7% Delineation surveillance is minimised in Area 1 because of planned

treatments

Areas 2–4 735 6213 62.1% Verified.

Outside 1 1162 11.6% Relates to Significant Detections

Total 750 7941 79.4

10 Undertaken in the area surrounding the site of the nest injection and at the same time responsive bait treatment is applied 11 2017–18 Target: new detections receive the minimum required amount of delineation surveillance (hectares)

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(month)



(YTD)


Areas 2–4 (external to) 10 0 0 2

Total 17 0 0 2

Additional comments on sentinel site surveillance


114 615


Total compliance

checks (month)


checks (month)

Number of suburb

monitoring checks

(month)






Total compliance

checks (YTD)

89 3 53 33 0 4 1 463

12 Surveillance of sentinel sites will be undertaken twicer per financial year and only in the cooler months 13 Sentinel Sites are almost always outside the Operational Boundary. Areas described are outside the external boundary of the Treatment Areas shown 14 2nd Significant Detection at Thornton 15 2017: Lowood and Beaudesert; 2018: Bridgeman Downs; t Thornton (2); Blenheim 16 Refer to Appendix 3 – Map of compliance checks 17 Biosecurity Instrument Permits (BIP), issued instruments, treatment General Biosecurity Obligation (GBO), compliance initiatives 18 These will result in a potential ‘follow up’ 19 These will be referred to the Investigations section of the report

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(month)


1 1 0 2 2

Details of compliance investigations

Advisory letters will be sent regarding movement of soil from Kenmore to Pullenvale and Brookfield (outside the fire ant biosecurity zones). This follows interviews and assessment of the site at Pullenvale.

On 18 May 2018, Program compliance officers visited a poultry farm in response to a report of suspect fire ant nests. Officers found a nest in one shed and established that poultry waste had been moved from the farm to outside the biosecurity zones, which included movement to NSW. Initial application of a pesticide barrier treatment had not been applied correctly. A biosecurity order was issued to prevent further movement of poultry waste until a pesticide barrier treatment was applied. Follow-up surveillance, to date, indicated fire ants had not spread as a result of such movement. An investigation is due to commence in June 2018.

Communication and Stakeholder Engagement Program engagement

Target (month)

Actual (month) Target (year) Actual (YTD)


Students attending 1400 326 7000 6295



6 7 80 87

Number of trainees 150 190 2000 2592



12 10 70 56


1800 2200 20 000 17 817

20 This will capture the serious non-compliance as above

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Program Logistics & Business Support Budget21

Budget 2017–18


$35 351 702 $5 127 292 $30 832 192 $4 888 647

The following pie charts illustrate the May 2018 and year to date expenditure by activity.

Figure 1: Proportion of expenditure by Program activity for May 2018

Figure 2: Proportion of expenditure by Program activity for 2017–18 to date

21 Budget amount does not include $382K set aside to offset expenses incurred in 2016–17 for ramp up activities.

Directorate1%

Science4%


64%

Ramp up activities

4%

Administration,

procurement, WH&S, HR

10%

Community, engagement

3%

IT development

5%

Planning, QA5%

Policy2%

RSS R&D< 1%

Compliance2%

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Appendices Maps Appendix 1: Planned and responsive treatment completed to date (Round 1) at 31 May 2018 Appendix 2: Planned and responsive treatment completed to date (Round 2) at 31 May 2018 Appendix 3: Locations of fire ant infestations detected in May 2018 Appendix 4: Locations of compliance checks undertaken in May 2018

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8 10

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18

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to d

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Roun

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at 3

1 May

2018

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National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program – South East Queensland Monthly Steering Committee Report – June 2018

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Monthly Steering Committee Report – June 2018 1

Monthly highlights The following highlights relate to the implementation and progress of the 2017–18 Work Plan and Ten Year Eradication Plan for the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program in South East Queensland (Program) during June 2018:

Area 1: Eradication treatment and red imported fire ant responsive nest destruction – Planned eradication treatment was finalised in May 2018. Nineteen nests were destroyed by direct nest injection during June bringing the number of nests destroyed in Area 1 to 601, in 2017-18. A map identifying the extent of treatment undertaken to date is provided at Appendices 1 and 2.

Areas 2, 3 & 4: Planned suppression and responsive fire ant nest destruction – Planned suppression treatment was completed by the end of May 2018. An additional 4285 nests were destroyed by direct nest injection in Areas 2-4 during June with the total number of nests destroyed for 2017–18 at 21 541.

Boundary Management:

─ Planned targeted surveillance – The total surveillance target of 2500 hectares for Area 1 has been exceeded (now at 3753 hectares) as a result of additional surveillance sites being included in the winter 2018 surveillance season. In total, targeted surveillance has been carried out across 6856 hectares throughout the Operational Area in 2017-18.

New detections (total grid squares showing infestation at start of month: n=1732): Forty-seven additional areas with fire ant infestation were detected throughout the Operational Area during May 2018 and three new areas identified outside the Operational Boundary: two in the Lockyer Valley, and the other in the Gold Coast local government areas (refer to Significant Detections below). The locations of these infestations appear on the map at Appendix 3.

Responsive treatment and surveillance: During the month, 877 ha throughout the operational area was subject to responsive bait treatment with insect growth regulator (IGR). Responsive treatment in Area 1 was focused on the external boundary, with the majority of treatment (94%) applied across Areas 2 to 4. In the year to date, 4350 ha inside of the Operational Boundary have received responsive bait treatment with 8556 ha subject to delineation surveillance (performed at the same time as IGR baiting). The majority of ant samples diagnosed by the Program are the result of public reports of suspect ants.

Significant Detections: In June 2018, significant detections were reported at Thornton, Townson and Labrador. This is the third Significant Detection identified at Thornton since January year. A report on these detections is being prepared for the Steering Committee’s information.

Update on investigations: In June 2018, a preliminary investigation of a poultry farm, which was found to have been infested in May, was completed. The conditions established through a biosecurity order have been meet and the poultry farm is now considered compliant. Follow up industry consultation and education is to commence on 31 July 2018. The locations of compliance checks undertaken during June 2018 appear on the map at Appendix 4.

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Area 11 2 Eradication treatment




% of area treated



Jan 2018 80 550 95.9% Commenced October 2017;

Completed March 2018

Round 1 completed. Additional data for

previous period entered during June.


Apr 2018 80 066 95% Commenced February 2018;

Completed May 2018

Round 2 completed in May 2018. Surveillance

undertaken in areas that did not receive treatment.



Not applicable

To commence 2018–19 Not applicable

Additional comments on eradication treatment

Areas not treated over Round 1 and 2 were due to delays in obtaining access, organic farms and some cropping conflicts. It is anticipated that an earlier start, site visits and discussions with property owners will increase the completed treatment area (%) for Round 3. Additional focus will be for treating areas missed in Round 1 and 2.

Areas 2, 3 and 4 Suppression treatment




% of area treated


Round 1 32 000 ha

Apr 2018 28 495 87.3% Commenced January 2018;

Completed May 2018

Delayed start and wet weather restricted the

ability to complete buffering areas.

Round 2 32 000 ha

Jun 2018 0* 0% To commence 2018-19

Treatment season ended before the second round

of treatment could be undertaken

1 From January 2018, all figures are calculated from spatial coverage data 2 Refer to Appendix 1 – Map of completed treatment 3 Monthly and year-to-date (YTD) figures stated herein are at the creation date of this report. Some data for the reporting period may be forthcoming such

that YTD data can include data not stated in previous monthly reports but has since been entered into FAMS. 4 As per previous footnote

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Newly identified infestations5 Number of grid squares6

showing infestation (start of month)




(end of month)

1732 50 359 1782

Responsive Direct Nest Injections (DNI) Phase Area Number of nests injected

(June 2018) Number of nests

injected YTD % of budget allocation (24 000) actioned (YTD)

Area 1 19 601

89% Areas 2–4 2800 20 809

Outside 0 5

Total 2817 21 415

Public reports

Number of public reports received for June 2018


(a)

Suspect samples of ants collected by the National Program and sourced from public reports

395


498 6755 312

(c) Fire ants from (b) as a proportion of (a)

79%


Surveillance Zone (Target 5000 ha)



Hectares surveyed

(YTD)


(YTD)


Area 18 2500 ha


Includes some surveillance related to Thornton Significant

Detection. Winter planned surveillance

commenced.

5 Refer to Appendix 2 – Map of infestation. 6 Each grid square on the map at Appendix 2 depicts a 1km2 area of land infested with fire ants. These areas of land cannot be declared as clear of

infestation until clearance activity finds no evidence of live infestation. Clearance activity is not scheduled to commence in Area 1 until 2019–20. 7 Surveillance zone is located up to 5 km inside of the Operational Area’s boundary. The objective of targeted surveillance is to monitor spread from the nearest detection to the Operational Boundary. 8 Area 1 and Area 2–4 include adjoining areas outside the treatment boundary and the Operational Boundary in some instances.

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Surveillance Zone (Target 5000 ha)



Hectares surveyed

(YTD)


(YTD)


Areas 2-4 2 500 ha


Outside 146 2384 Commenced July 2017

Winter planned surveillance commenced

Additional comments on Boundary Management

Planned surveillance commenced with the external boundary of Area 1 prioritised due to recent Boundary and Significant Detections.


(month) Hectares treated

(YTD) % of budget

allocation actioned (10 000 ha)


Area 1 45.57 533 5.33% Responsive treatments are minimised to external

boundary and public safety in Area 1

Areas 2–4 831.43 3770 37.7% Verified: The majority of samples are collected

from Areas 2–4

Outside 0 47 0.5% No activity recorded in June

Total 877 4350 43.5%


Responsive bait treatment relates to IGR baiting out to a 100 m radius during treatment season (September to May/June) and 10 m radius during winter months.


Area 1 0.37 6.65

Areas 2–4 17.47 611.67

Outside 0 39.21

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Responsive delineation surveillance9,10 Area Hectares subject

to surveillance (month)*

Hectares subject to surveillance (YTD)**


ha)


Area 1 169.47 792.75 7.9% Relates to boundary detections outside the

treatment area in Area 1

Areas 2–4 562.82 6597.98 66% Performed at the time of sample collection in

addition to IGR baiting

Outside .74 1165.02 11.7% Activity relates to 3rd Significant Detection at

Thornton

Total 733.03 8555.75 86%

Additional comments on responsive delineation surveillance

Delineation surveillance is performed at the time of sample collection.




(month)



(YTD)


Areas 2–4 (external to) 10 0 0 2

Total 17 0 0 2

Additional comments on sentinel site surveillance


313 914

9 Undertaken in the area surrounding the site of the nest injection and at the same time responsive bait treatment is applied 10 2017–18 Target: new detections receive the minimum required amount of delineation surveillance (hectares) 11 Surveillance of sentinel sites will be undertaken twicer per financial year and only in the cooler months 12 Sentinel Sites are almost always outside the Operational Boundary. Areas described are outside the external boundary of the Treatment Areas shown 13 3rd Significant detection at Thornton. Significant detections also reported at Labrador and Townson. 14 2017: Lowood and Beaudesert; 2018: Bridgeman Downs, Thornton (3), Blenheim, Labrador and Townson.

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Total Compliance

checks (month)


checks (month)

Number of suburb

monitoring checks

(month)






Total Compliance

checks (YTD)

70 1 42 23 4 3 0 534






(month)


2 0 2 0 4

Details of compliance investigations

Advisory letters have been sent regarding movement of soil from Kenmore to Pullenvale and Brookfield (outside the fire ant biosecurity zones), following interviews and assessment of the site at Pullenvale.

Poultry farm preliminary investigation has been completed and will not proceed to full investigation. Follow up industry consultation and education to commence on 31 July 2018.

Communication and Stakeholder Engagement (C&SE) Program engagement

Target (month)

Actual (month) Target (year) Actual (YTD)


Students attending 500 0 7000 6295



7 2 80 89

Number of trainees 175 72 2000 2664



7 5 70 61


1050 2155 20 000 19 972

15 Refer to Appendix 3 – Map of compliance checks 16 Biosecurity Instrument Permits (BIP), issued instruments, treatment General Biosecurity Obligation (GBO), compliance initiatives 17 These will result in a potential ‘follow up’ 18 These will be referred to the Investigations section of the report 19 This will capture the serious non-compliance as above

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Program Logistics & Business Support Budget20

Budget 2017–18


72 352 127 - 1 942 590 28 889 602 7 741 700

Figure 1: Proportion of expenditure by Program activity in June 2018

Figure 2: Proportion of expenditure by Program activity in 2017–18 to date

20 Budget amount does not include $382K set aside to offset expenses incurred in 2016–17 for ramp up activities.

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Appendices Maps Appendix 1: Responsive treatment completed to date (30 June 2018) Appendix 2: Surveillance completed to date (30 June 2018) Appendix 3: Locations of fire ant infestation detected to date (30 June 2018) Appendix 4: Locations of compliance checks undertaken in June 2018

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: Loc

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National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program – South East Queensland Annual Report 2016–17

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This publication has been compiled by Biosecurity Queensland, Department of Agriculture and Fisheries.

© State of Queensland, 2017.

The Queensland Government supports and encourages the dissemination and exchange of its information. The copyright in this publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY) licence.

Under this licence you are free, without having to seek our permission, to use this publication in accordance with the licence terms.

You must keep intact the copyright notice and attribute the State of Queensland as the source of the publication.

For more information on this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/au/deed.en

The information contained herein is subject to change without notice. The Queensland Government shall not be liable for technical or other errors or omissions contained herein. The reader/user accepts all risks and responsibility for losses, damages, costs and other consequences resulting directly or indirectly from using this information.

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NRIFAEP Annual Report 2016–17 - SEQ 1

Executive Summary The nationally agreed Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program Response Plan 2013–18 (the response plan) was developed to establish a fram

national red imported fire ant eradication program – south ... · clearance activities won’t...

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