Fair Egg Regulations for Smallholders

The petition of the undersigned citizens of Tasmania draws the attention of the House to the fact that: • Tasmanian Primary Produce Safety (Egg) Regulations unfairly discriminate against small egg producers, imposing costs that will see small egg producers become unviable. • This configuration of the regulations is unnecessary to ensure food safety, as demonstrated by other States having created provisions catering for small egg producers without compromising national food safety standards. Your Petitioners therefore request that the House: • Acknowledge the contribution of smallholder food producers to Tasmania's economy. • Acknowledge the primary goal of small farm businesses is to be financially viable and provide nutritious and safe food. • Recognise poultry are integral to many smallholders' production systems, cleaning up pests and weeds, producing fertiliser, and providing income from selling eggs and birds. • Ensure small egg enterprises are nurtured by an administration taking interest in their success, working with them to ensure compliance and appropriate management of food safety issues. • Calls on the Government to amend Tasmanian Primary Produce Safety (Egg) Regulations to: (a) Recognise the capacity of smallholders to achieve compliance in a cost effective manner, by creating a charter producers can complete with a checklist of risks involved with small scale production, handling and sale of eggs and clear guidelines on how these can be implemented. We request this charter be based on the Victorian egg safety regulations for small producers; and (b) Amend the definition of 'egg laying bird' to allow for breeding stock, retired birds and family pets.