Concerns have been put to rest, for now, as to whether or not the state's agriculture research stations are being put on the chopping block to solve NSW's housing shortage.
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The issue raised with The Land included the possibility of the sale of a portion of the land that is home to world renowned biosecurity facility, the Elizabeth Macarthur Agricultural Institute (EMAI), at Menangle, due to its proximity to Sydney.
But that was knocked on the head by the state government this week.
It's not the first time the EMAI has been looked at, with former Agriculture Minister Adam Marshall saying there had been an approach made previously to the Department of Primary Industries (DPI) by the University of Sydney when it was looking to expand its campus as it had land adjacent to the facility.
"To do that they wanted to buy a section of the institute, but I pushed back on that and it did not proceed," Mr Marshall said.
"I don't know if it was discussed prior to me taking over the portfolio early 2019."
Mr Marshall said when the proposal was put forward, he spent several days at the EMAI talking to researchers and learning what they did at the institute.
"Not only did they play a key role in removing equine influenza (in 2007), in the pandemic it played a key role in COVID-19 testing as they had the same facilities that were internationally medically recognised," Mr Marshall said.
"They just re-calibrated to check for human COVID-19 rather than animal virus."
Mr Marshall said EMAI was world leading and the researchers were the best at what they did.
"If the work by EMAI is curtailed by government, it will hurt every Australian. Other states rely on the institute to do work.
"Over the years governments have got rid of their facilities, we are the last ones standing and the work done there is critical for every state and territory, not just NSW.
"We are talking about serious diseases that could decimate agriculture and humans. No government should be playing around with that, it should be maintained and enhanced."
NSW Nationals Leader Dugald Saunders said he had concerns that the government was looking at selling EMAI at as part of its solution to the housing shortage.
"If those claims are found to be true, it is very bad news not only for our farmers, but for every NSW resident that relies on the food and fibre they produce each day.
"The institute is crucial to keeping our primary industries safe and secure and employs people who are world leaders in their field."
The Land understands that the potential sale of the EMAI in recent years was just one of several DPI assets which had been subject to scrutiny around a potential sale - but never making it to a formal proposal stage.
With the issue rearing its head in light of the current housing shortage, The Land asked the government what, if any assets, may have been on the table.
A spokesperson for Agriculture Minister Tara Moriarty's office said there were no plans to sell EMAI or any other DPI land assets for housing or any deals with universities.
A University of Sydney spokesperson said: "While we had previously entered a memorandum of understanding to investigate opportunities, we are not currently in any discussion with the government about the land at the EMAI".
