The New South Wales government has been accused of bowing to industry pressure after announcing it would not be joining the rest of the country in phasing out caged eggs by 2036.
The nation’s agriculture ministers met in Perth on Thursday to adopt the Australian Animal Welfare Standards and Guidelines for Poultry. The framework was developed over seven years before being finalised last year and agreed to by all states.
The national guidelines state that egg producers should phase out the use of conventional-layer hen cages by 2036 at the latest, but the country’s most populous state has rejected that timeframe.
The NSW agriculture minister, Tara Moriarty, said the decision was made in order to protect industry and consumers.
“What we’ve done is change those guidelines to allow NSW to be able to implement the plans on our own timetable with our own industry, to make sure that industry has the timeline that it needs but also that consumers are protected in relation to any price changes,” she told Sydney radio station 2GB after the meeting.
She added: “We haven’t got a deadline. The national guidelines do talk about 2036 but what we’ve agreed today is that NSW will work with our industry … to make sure that we’re operating in everyone’s interest here.”
The NSW premier, Chris Minns, had earlier rejected claims that phasing out of caged eggs by 2036 would see prices for the kitchen staple surge, as claimed by industry voices through the week.
“I can’t anticipate that would have any impact on prices in the retail sector,” he said on Thursday.
The federal agriculture minister, Murray Watt, also refuted the claims.
“I’ve seen some absolutely ridiculous figures thrown around in the media over the last few days and there are people who are pushing this for their own political reasons,” he said. “Those figures have no credibility and the politicians who are out there spouting them are just trying to scare people.”
Ahead of the meeting, the federal Nationals leader, David Littleproud, added to calls for an extension to the 2036 deadline.
“Our egg farmers deserve support, not surprises, from state governments,” he said. “Farmers have made investment decisions worth millions of dollars, predicated on the current guidelines, believing they had until 2046.”
Woolworths and Coles have already pledged that their eggs will be 100% cage-free by 2025.
Following Thursday’s meeting, the federal agriculture department confirmed the standards proposed a phased approach to banning conventional cages, but that it was up to states to implement it.
Advocates for change say the potential policy change is “long overdue”, with many arguing it does not go far enough.
The Australian Alliance for Animals’ policy director, Jed Goodfellow, said the decision by the NSW government to set its own timeframe was disappointing.
“What’s the point of endorsing a national standard when the phase-out timeline is going to be left to every state? It’s a bit contradictory,” he said.
“The industry ran a pretty effective campaign and my assessment is it’s had a bit of an effect on especially NSW not committing to do more.”
The alliance is calling on every state and territory government to now publicly release their timeframes on the policy.
When the standards were first revealed last year, Egg Farmers of Australia asked the government to consider changes to the plan including extending the exit timeframe to 2046 and creating “exit packages” for farmers transitioning.
The chief executive, Melinda Hashimoto, said: “It’s 10 years too early and could drive many family egg farmers to the wall.”
