Gold Coasters call to Stop Toxic Fire Ant Program

GOLD Coast residents concerned about the Australian Government’s $1.2B toxic Fire Ant Eradication Program are invited to attend a free film/ speaker awareness event at Currumbin RSL on October 20, calling to end the program.

Many Gold Coast residents and vets have reported the fire ant poison has killed dogs, horses, wildlife and impacted community health.

On the night, Gold Coast filmmaker/ conservationist Lin Sutherland, who has produced environmental films over 20 years for TV networks globally, will re-release her Channel 9 documentary The Pulse of Life.

“The film showcases the beauty and value of our natural ecosystems, including our dependency on pollinating insects globally and the effects of mass pesticide poisoning in many countries,” Ms Sutherland said.

“If we lose our pollinators, whole ecosystems could collapse.”

Save the Bees Australia founder Simon Mulvany said there was presently no fire ant problem on the Gold Coast and our best weapon against fire ants were actually native ants.

“What we are witnessing at the moment is a malignant poisoning program that is doomed to fail just as it did in NSW when they released fipronil into nature, including national parks,” he said.?

“Millions of dollars are being filtered through chemical companies at the expense of taxpayers' other needs. This program has lost community support. We need a far more rational approach that does not centre around blanket poisoning.”

The community event will be hosted by Lin Sutherland and MC Aldwyn Altuney, who has hosted 17 annual Animal Action events on the Gold Coast since 2007, raising awareness, appreciation and respect for all animals.

Lin will host the speaker panel, which will include Sarah McGuire, who witnessed deadly chemicals from helicopters being released into the Samford Valley water systems recently and Dr Washington, who took the water test that revealed the record toxicity levels.

Other panelists include Currumbin Valley community leader Peter Aubort, lawyer Hugh Carter who will talk about our rights when the toxic team knock on resident’s doors, pollinator expert Jai Love David Warth, Wildlife expert and Byron Bay councillor and Cathy Osborne, Burleigh resident/ Libertarian candidate for the seat of Burleigh in the Queensland Government elections on October 26.

“These insecticides they are using decimate all insects including indigenous bees and many native ant species which play vital roles in our ecosystem,” Ms Sutherland said.

“We need to remember the value of our ecosystems being healthy and clean for future generations.”

As a free event, there will be donations and raffles at the door. All donations and proceeds will go to Save the Bees Australia and selected charities.

For more details, visit https://events.humanitix.com/fire-ant-poisoning-concerns-community-event-llmrpvn2