Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (Aus./N.Z.) to sabotage, during a labour dispute; thus white-anter n., a saboteur; white-anting n., sabotage.

[1893		Nat. Advocate (Bathurst, NSW) 14 Nov. 2/2: The mere threat of his party to undo the means by which they had grown great, to thus, play into the hands of the foreigners by putting the white ant of Free trade into the foundations of the home industries which had been established and fostered by Protection was enough].
1918		Cumberland Argus (NSW) 22 June 6/7: Loud squeals have rent the air of late because the ‘black hand’ gang that wrecked the Labon leagues and then sought for the jugular vein of the Empire was not allowed also to white-ant the repatriation effort.
1923		Maitland Dly Mercury (NSW) 9 Feb. 3/6: The latest criticism was to the effect that sinister influences were at work among the Country and Nationalist members to ‘white ant’ the movement for the transfer of Parliament to Canberra.
1932		Sun (Sydney) 12 Nov. 4/5: ‘Nobbless,’ said Willie, ‘don’t oblige no more. It’s got white-anted’.
1941		Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl. 5: ant, to See ‘White Ant’.
1941		Baker Popular Dict. Aus. Sl. 81: white ant, to: To undermine or sabotage, esp. applied to siuch activities in a [...] union. Whence ‘white-anter’,: a saboteur; ‘white-anting’: the practice.
1946		P.L. Soljak N.Z. 115: Colloquialisms common to New Zealand and Australian English [...] white ant: to undermine.
1950		(con. 1936–46) K.S. Prichard Winged Seeds (1984) 106: The blasted coms, they say, are white-anting the labour movement, stirring up trouble.
1955		N. Pulliam I Travelled a Lonely Land (1957) 241/2: white-ant – to sabotage a labour movement. white-anter – one who does so.
1972		A. Chipper Aussie Swearers Guide 70: White Ant. Someone who betrays his fellow workers.
2007		S. Maloney Sucked In 186: An undertaking to steal votes from Phil Sebastian [...] was documentary evidence that he was conspiring to white-ant his liege-lord, Alan Metcalfe.

2. to slander; to verbally pressurize.

1986		R. Beckett Dinkum Aussie Dict. 57: White ant: To destroy another’s character by slanderous and probably truthful gossip normally expressed thus, ‘I was doing all right with the sheila until the bastard white anted me.’.
2004		T. Winton ‘Big World’ in Turning (2005) 3: I white-ant him day after day until it starts to pay off.
2016		D. Whish-Wilson Old Scores [ebook] Someone was white-anting the premier already. Most likely Sullivan, the [...] recently retired leader of the Liberal opposition.

3. (Aus.) of a man, to cut in on another man’s girlfriend.

1986

C. Bowles G’DAY 7: MACKA: She’s with some turkey. SHANE: The smooth bastard with the mo? MACKA: Whinecha go over an see if ya can white ant im?