NSW Labor government silent on eID funding commitment

This is despite the NSW government, then Coalition, leading the charge last July pushing for the mandatory roll-out of eID tags for the sheep and goat industry at the NSW Farmers' annual conference.

On Thursday the SA government announced that it would put $9 million towards stage one of the mandatory roll-out.

The SA government funding - in addition to the federal government contribution - will be used to offer a 50 per cent rebate for those tagging newborn lambs and kids for the next two years (2023-2024 and 2024-25).

But with a year on, NSW producers are still questioning what the next steps are for them and who will foot the bill for tags and infrastructure.

Last December NSW Coalition government announced grants of $5,000 to $15,000 for saleyards and processors in the sheep and farmed goat industries to prepare for the implementation of eID.

But in the six months since there has been no indication what direction Labor will take.

This has left farmers in limbo as they try to make business decisions for their farming operations.

Agriculture Minister Tara Moriary said she recognised there was a "cost to participants in all sheep and goat sectors involved with this change".

"That is why NSW is in the process of firming its position on how to implement eIDs in a way that reduces costs," Ms Moriarty said.

But she did not answer The Land's questions as to when or how much the NSW government would commit to funding.

She reconfirmed what former Agriculture Minister Dugald Saunders had already announced last year about the grants available to saleyards and processors saying: "In the interim, grants have been made available to support saleyards and processors to undertake planning and design activities related to the installation of eIDs to develop estimates for hardware, software and structural modifications, along with operational requirements".

"I am aware that Sheep Producers Australia are developing an options paper and business case, as part of their considerations in administering a national tag tender/procurement scheme," Ms Moriarty said.

"The NSW Government will continue working with industry as well as state, territory and the Australian governments to implement these and other critical livestock traceability systems as we work towards the January 2025 timeline.

"The need for accurate, timely and responsive livestock tracing has never been more important, as an incursion of animal diseases will potentially shut Australia's access to export markets with devastating impacts on the industry, the economy, and the community."