Fire ant discovery in park threatens major Brisbane festival

A cluster of fire ant nests have been discovered in Musgrave Park ahead of one of Queensland’s largest cultural festivals held at the site, with fears the outbreak could pose a major health risk to thousands of attendees.

Brisbane City Council confirmed several nests of fire ants – an invasive species capable of inflicting extremely painful bites and causing extensive environmental damage – had been discovered at the inner-city park in South Brisbane.

It comes as preparations begin for the Paniyiri Greek Festival, an annual event held in Musgrave Park that attracts thousands of people each year.

A resident discovered the nests on May 4 and alerted council and the National Fire Ant Eradication Program, a federal body tasked with controlling the spread of fire ants.

West End Community Association secretary Paul King said the discovery was a “huge concern” and should alarm “all residents of South Brisbane”.

“It seems to me the whole plan to eradicate fire ants won’t be meeting its target of eradication by 2032 … if it isn’t, that’s what the 2032 Brisbane Olympics are going to be known for; fire ant bites, because they are devastating,” King said.

“It’s just a reminder that we need to really … get on top of this fast, or not at all.”

About five nests were found in the corner of the park closest to Musgrave pool and Edmondstone Street, near a large green shed.

Council said steps had been taken to “treat” the fire ants to prevent spread.

Residents who spoke to this masthead said they understood hormones were used on the nests, which do not kill the ants on contact but reduce the ability of the colony to repopulate over an extended period of time.

Some expressed concern council had recently mowed over the nests, driving the species underground and out of sight.

No areas of Musgrave Park had been marked or sectioned off on Friday, and no signage warning of fire ants was seen.

Co-chairman of the Paniyiri volunteer organising committee Kos Kastrissios was confident the issue would be dealt with in time for the festival’s 50th-anniversary event to go ahead as planned, but said they were monitoring the situation.

“We expect bumper crowds to join us next weekend as Paniyiri celebrates 50 years of bringing South East Queensland together to celebrate Greek cuisine and culture,” he said.

“We will take direction from the Brisbane City Council and the Queensland Government’s Fire Ant Suppression Taskforce should any changes be needed to the festival’s set-up.”

Set-up for Paniyiri is expected to begin on Monday, with the event to be held from May 23-24.

About 50,000 patrons attend Paniyiri – one of Queensland’s largest and oldest cultural festivals – each year.

Fire ants were recently discovered at the Mount Gravatt Showgrounds, which host weekly markets, on Brisbane’s southside, leading to temporary closures across the grounds and car park.

The aggressive pests were first detected in Brisbane in the early 2000s, and huge resources have been devoted since to their eradication.

This masthead contacted the National Fire Ant Eradication Program just after 4pm on Friday. It said it did not have time to respond, and would provide further details about the discovery on Monday afternoon.

Start the day with a summary of the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up for our Morning Edition newsletter.