The Albanese government has been warned thousands of Australian pets could die and households risk facing more than $1 billion in annual costs unless it significantly boosts efforts to eradicate fire ants.

New research by the Australia Institute has found the invasive pest could trigger an extra 2.3 million veterinary visits for pets and 624,000 medical visits for people each year if it is allowed to spread across the country.

“Australia’s government isn’t doing enough to protect people or the economy from fire ants, but perhaps it will act to protect our pets.

“Prime Minister Albanese, a renowned animal lover, could save Australian households $1 billion a year and a lot of heartache by properly funding and prioritising fire ant eradication.

“Our research shows that investing in fire ant eradication is one of the best economic policies a government could adopt, as well as being good environmental and security policy.”