Anti-fire ant eradication activist convicted after using legal arguments ‘similar to sovereign citizens’

Trevor Hold, who leads a group opposing Australia’s fire ant eradication programme, was convicted of obstructing government officers after trying to stop them treating his property in Queensland. A magistrate rejected his arguments that the programme was unlawful and that he had a reasonable excuse to refuse access; the case is believed to be the first of its kind in Queensland.

Hold was fined A$1,500, but no conviction was recorded, and he has appealed to the District Court. Queensland’s Biosecurity Act requires landholders to allow programme officers onto their properties to treat declared priority pests. A legal expert compared parts of Hold’s defence, including notices he sent to government departments, with arguments used by sovereign citizen groups.