However, the Government will back the Greens' proposal for tougher labelling and display requirements, which means that from next year retailers will have to separate battery eggs from other eggs.

Prominent notices will have to include the words, ''Hens kept in a cage system live in mesh cages 40cm high with a floor area per bird that is less than the size of an A4 page.''

Greens MLA Caroline Le Couteur said she would settle for the tougher labelling requirements, but was disappointed the ban was not supported.

Although about three-quarters of eggs sold in Australia were cage eggs, Ms Le Couteur believed this was because of confusion about which brands were barn-laid, as some cage-egg producers used deliberately misleading packaging.

''One of the reasons for that is that when you go to the supermarket there are lots of eggs there and it's really hard to work out what you're buying,'' she said.

For more, pick up a copy of today's Canberra Times