This follows odour detection dog teams discovering fire ants at multiple mine sites in the Central Highlands and Isaac Council regions, including the BHP Broadmeadow Mine, located west of Mackay.

Pianta emphasizes it’s not a case of penalizing companies like BHP, but rather that using public funds in this scenario could hinder the overall effort to address the fire ant problem.

“The issue isn’t about making companies pay for everything. However, if governments allow outbreaks to deplete resources from critical areas, it could jeopardize the national eradication initiative,” he said.

“BHP did the right thing reporting and supporting fire ant surveillance work, now they are uniquely well placed to support the response.”

BHP has been contacted for comment.