BackFire ants report: Timeliness of responses to notifications of suspected fire ant activity is a new publication from the Office of the Queensland Ombudsman on the timeliness of the National Red Imported Fire Ant Eradication Program’s responses to notifications of suspected fire ant locations made by members of the public.
Analysis of the program's data identified that the average time to complete treatment improved significantly, from 40 days in September 2018 to consistently less than 10 days in November 2020. The investigation identified two changes that significantly contributed to the improvement in timeframes:
- use of new type of treatment (a fast-acting bait, Indoxacarb)
- an organisational restructure and revised administrative processes.
Further improvements in quality assurance and auditing have been recommended. The report, which can be downloaded below, was published under the authority of the Honourable Curtis Pitt MP, Speaker of the Queensland Parliament.
Source: The Office of the Queensland Ombudsman, Australia
