Title: The Great Poisoning - The Hidden Abuses in Queensland's
Fire Ant Eradication Program
Guest: Trevor Hold
Recorded: September 2025
My guest today is Trevor Hold, a farmer in Queensland and a leading voice in opposition to the NFAEP. Authoring multiple petitions and calling for reform, a shift to suppression, and protection of property rights. Property rights which the government can trample on due to special provisions in the 2014 Biosecurity Act. Hold is very clear about the nature of fire ants and the need to do something about their presence. He understands that fire ants pose severe threats to human health, the economy, agriculture as well as biodiversity but he does disagree with the principal strategy and pesticide application methods by the QLD government and I don’t blame him for doing so. Imagine this. You’re on your own property, the land you’ve worked for, paid for, maybe even passed down through generations. Suddenly without your consent, without your knowledge government agents roll up – sometimes with police units in tow – to blanket your soil, your garden and your livestock with toxic baits. No permission needed, no negotiation with the property owner, the leviathan does what it wants because it’s fully backed by the force of state law. Signs like "No Trespass" or "No Consent to Poisoning"? They're worthless; the program calls them misinformation and pushes ahead anyway.
And that is the reality of the National Fire Ant Eradication Program, and it's happening today, in 2025, across south-east Queensland.
Unwinnable wars with ill-defined objectives is the name of the game if you want to get your hands on big dollars. It is the case with the war on drugs, war on poverty, war on homelessness, war on terrorism. The word war always betrays the game. My read on this situation is that this isn’t just about ants. It’s about capture by big agriculture and chemical giants who profit massively from an endless unwinnable campaign.
There are numerous reasons why mainstream media is not reporting on this story, why there’s no investigative journalism conducted to uncover what really is driving the current strategy and why the health of natural environment is being sacrificed for profit. There’s no better person to tell this story than Trevor Hold who has been in the thick of it for a while.
Links and interview references:
Australian Advocacy Group - Founded during a campaign to create better outcomes for Queenslanders by stopping the National Fire Ant Eradication Program from causing harm to human health, sensitive eco-systems, wildlife, people’s petsand farming operations through reckless, excessive and irresponsible distribution of toxic chemicals, and mandates to enter private property without consent.https://aagpilot.com/
Pesticide Use in the Imported Fire Ant Program - Environmental Assessment March 2012
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/sites/default/files/imported_fireant_ea_march2012.pdf
https://www.beyondpesticides.org/assets/media/documents/NewsDC&ATC.PAY.fall18-web.pdf
National Fire Ant Eradication Program Official Website - https://www.fireants.org.au/
‘Wildly toxic’ poison used on fire ants is killing native Australian animals, experts warn Senate inquiry. Guardian editorial - https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2024/mar/16/fipronil-fire-ant-poison-toxic-senate-inquiry-bans
Malcolm Roberts (One Nation) questioning Minister Chisholm and Acting Secretary of the Department, Ms Justine Saunders, regarding the ongoing mismanagement of the Fire Ant Eradication Program in South East Queensland. - https://youtu.be/5wh5o_OHtHk?si=_Hzoi0HfiUhkBmsr
