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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2024-04-11 Daily Xml
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Sheep and Goat Electronic Identification System

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI (Leader of the Opposition) (14:31): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before addressing a question to the Minister for Primary Industries on the topic of sheep and goat electronic identification.

Leave granted.

The Hon. N.J. CENTOFANTI: Ag ministers, including the minister herself, back in September 2022, agreed on an implementation start date for mandatory sheep and goat eID tagging of 1 January 2025. The minister recently announced that the mandatory start date for saleyards and processors to commence scanning is now July 2025, yet the date for producers to tag new lambs with electronic ID tags remains fixed at 1 January 2025.

Livestock SA has publicly conceded that if saleyard scanning was not ready to go by January 2025, then the minister should consider exemptions for terminal lambs until that infrastructure is in place. My questions to the minister are:

1. Is the minister confident that the July 2025 target will be met when it comes to saleyard and processor infrastructure installation?

2. Will the minister commit to an exemption for terminal lambs in the circumstance where tags cannot be read until the infrastructure is completed?

3. Will the minister concede that the rollout of sheep and goat eID under her leadership has been lacking in information and communication and is, quite frankly, abysmal?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:32): I thank the honourable member for her question. In terms of the mandatory scanning dates—just to clarify—as part of the implementation of the eID system, the state government has released scanning dates for processors, saleyards and property-to-property movements. For processors it will be 1 January 2025, for property to property it is 1 January 2025, and for saleyards, 1 July 2025.

The Hon. N.J. Centofanti: That's what I said.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: I don't think it is what you said, but I am happy to be corrected if that's the case. I just wanted to clarify for the benefit of not only the honourable member but for the chamber more generally.

The Hon. R.B. Martin: It was helpful to me.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: I am glad to hear it was helpful for the Hon. Mr Martin, and I am sure it is for others.

The PRESIDENT: Minister, responding to interjections is out of order so just continue, please.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: These dates have been established to help the supply chain prepare for South Australia's transition to eID. The date of 1 January 2025 for producers moving sheep and goats from property to property will be supported by technical extension and a targeted producer campaign on scanning responsibilities.

Prior to the announcement of the eID scanning dates, PIRSA's Industry Advisory Committee discussed several options for the setting of these dates. It was important that this consultation occurred, and it was important that a range of options was presented to the committee rather than, for example, just one option being presented as the path. It was based on the feedback of this committee that the government made the decision to provide processors and saleyards with the maximum time possible to adequately assess their needs regarding scanning equipment and installation, as well as site alignment and changes to business practices.

The states chosen and announced by the government extended the mandatory time frames for a longer period than some of the options that were presented to the committee. It is important that we listen to the feedback, which is exactly what I have done on this occasion. It is important that we involve the industry, which is why we have the Industry Advisory Committee. It is not necessarily expected that there will be consensus on a committee that is made up of various parts of the sector and various parts of the supply chain. The point of consultation is to put forward options to receive feedback and then to make a decision, which is what has occurred.

In terms of the next question that the honourable member asked, it was a hypothetical question.

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