Labor has ‘pressed pause’ in fight to contain spread of fire ants, invasive species council says

If unchecked, pest species would burden health system with 650,000 more appointments and more than $2bn in costs each year, expert says

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The federal government's response to a Senate inquiry into the spread of invasive fire ants has been labelled inadequate with experts saying Labor has essentially pressed the pause button".

An April upper house report contained 10 recommendations. The Albanese government on Monday said it supported three in their entirety and three in principle - including calls for funding reviews, more transparency and improved council collaboration.

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