Thursday, 30 July 2026

 Georgie PURCELL (Northern Victoria) (18:14): (2651) My adjournment matter is for the Minister for Agriculture, and the action that I seek is for free-range chickens to be given better living conditions. Victorian consumers have the right to make informed choices on the products they buy, so it is crucial when they purchase free-range eggs that that is what they actually get. Roughly 70 per cent of shoppers opt to buy free-range options over caged eggs, and this often means that well-meaning Victorians are spending more for what they believe to be an ethical product. There is no such thing as an ethical egg, but it is evident that there are less cruel farming practices. When people hear ‘free range’ they often think of happy chickens living in fields of rolling green hills – after all, that is the power of marketing and industry spin – but the reality is this could not be further from the truth, and often ‘free range’ is a complete fraud. Currently in Victoria the legal classification of free-range chickens allows for up to 10,000 chickens to be housed per hectare of outdoor space, or one chicken per square metre. The high concentration of birds in one area rapidly rips grass from the soil, which leaves hard, compacted mud rather than an engaging pasture. When birds are kept in cramped conditions, their stress levels are elevated, and this often triggers high rates of feather pecking, fighting and even cannibalism. Hens need access to shade, shelter and vegetation, and they should be able to use that space. Yet Australia allows up to 10,000 chickens per hectare, which is four times the 2500 chickens allowed in the same space in New Zealand and in the EU.

What needs to change is simple: we need lower stocking densities and stronger requirements for outdoor space. If we are going to exploit hens for their eggs, we must ensure they are given the room to forage, dust, bathe, perch, explore and move freely. Most importantly, egg labels should accurately reflect these conditions so that when Victorians see ‘free-range’ in the supermarket, they can actually trust that it means free-range. Minister, we have an obligation here to make life better for these hens, so will you heed the calls from Victorians and from my work experience student Harper Collinge to end the free-range fraud?