Dogs are on the front line to combat ant invaders

Most of them have hitched a ride on shipping containers landing in Australian ports.

Much of the attention has been on red fire ants which has been found almost everywhere across Australia other than Tasmania.

The public has seized on the fire ant because of their notorious sting, but the new ant-attack is another unwanted arrival, the browsing ants.

These little nasties (just 3-4mm in length) have been detected in the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland since first being found in 2015.

These aggressive ants form multi-queened super colonies, monopolise food resources and kill native species for food.

A National Browsing Ant Eradication Program is under way.

They were first found in the Territory where specially trained odour detection dogs have been deployed to the front line in the effort eradicate them.

Similar programs are operating in Queensland and NSW.

Browsing ants had been found at 23 properties in the Territory and the odour dogs were sent in to ensure 22 of these properties remain free of the invasive species after eradication programs.

NT Agribusiness Minister Mark Monaghan said: "When exotic pests are identified, as they inevitably will be, we must act vigilantly to eradicate those threats as quickly as possible."

Meanwhile the fire ant is fast making Australia its new home.

The grains industry has voiced its increasing unease about the current fire ant incursion, saying it highlighted the need for a reset of Australia's biosecurity system.

Earlier this year fire ants, an invasive species native to South America, were found on the western side of the Great Dividing Range for the first time, with a positive identification near Toowoomba, on the Darling Downs.

Most of eastern Australia's grain is grown to the west and north of the Great Divide.

In its submission to the Senate Standing Committee on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport inquiry into the spread of fire ants, GrainGrowers said the threat was a significant concern for the grains sector.

As well as their notorious sting, which can cause significant harm to humans, fire ants decimate eco-systems, which can in turn harm grain crops.

The Victorian government is spending $69.7 million to help the national fight against fire ants.

Minister for Agriculture Ros Spence announced Victoria will provide the full funding requested to support the national eradication program - which will halt the spread of the pest from Queensland to other parts of Australia.