Parliamentary Speeches
Ballina Electorate Cultural and Business Events ( 05/09/2006)
Mr DONALD PAGE (Ballina—Deputy Leader of The Nationals) [5.57 p.m.]: I take this opportunity to comment on the wonderful cultural events and business achievements that have taken place in the Ballina electorate during the Parliament's winter recess. Communities within the Ballina electorate have hosted world-class festivals, highlighting the area's unique cultural and artistic nature. However, the Ballina electorate is not just an area with a thriving cultural community. We also have a prosperous and vibrant business community, as was demonstrated at the Ballina Chamber of Commerce's annual business excellence awards, the Lennox Head business awards and by what I saw during the recent Pollies for Small Business Week.
The North Coast of New South Wales is known for its artistic and cultural flair. This year I had the pleasure of attending the Bangalow Jazz Festival, in which world-class local and interstate jazz acts brought their individual and unique take on the jazz genre to Bangalow. In addition, two weeks ago, Bangalow also hosted the Bangalow Music Festival. This festival is a marvellous display of classical music talent and, like the jazz festival, brings many people into Bangalow and the surrounding area, all with a love of good music. I particularly thank Michael Malloy from the Bangalow Chamber of Commerce, who does a wonderful job facilitating many events in Bangalow, including the music festival.
Further east in Byron Bay, the annual Byron Bay Writers Festival has wrapped up its 10th successful year. The sold-out Splendour in the Grass music festival held in July was another success, highlighting the prominence of the Bangalow-Byron area as a hub of live festival entertainment. That comes on the back of the Blues and Roots Festival at Byron Bay over Easter. Recently I had the pleasure of attending the Ballina Chamber of Commerce annual business excellence awards held at the Ballina RSL Club. It is interesting to note that 20 years ago the future of the Ballina Chamber of Commerce was in doubt as it only had a handful of members. However, just over a week ago the business community proved what a vibrant and thriving community it has become, with 110 businesses vying for awards and more than 430 people attending the awards ceremony. These awards reflect the diversity and quality of every sphere of business in Ballina and show that there is a confidence and worldliness among this business community.
A week prior to that, the Lennox Head business awards were held and again it was a very successful event. As part of the recent Pollies for Small Business Week, organised by the Chamber of Commerce and Australian Business Limited, I was able to visit three different businesses operating in the Ballina area. First, I visited Kimberley Kampers and Karavans in Ballina. Kimberley Kampers currently employs 46 local people. It has developed and built the new popular Kimberly Karavan. Confirmed orders are beyond current production capacity and the business is set for a major expansion. A new, larger facility is being planned, allowing Kimberley Kampers and Karavans to provide employment for a further 44 skilled tradespeople. This is an exciting development in terms of new product, innovative design, employment growth and flow-on benefits to the area. Other local businesses will no doubt benefit from this thriving business in flow-on effects. I hope that the owner can find the skilled workers required.
I also spent some time at Sailfish Marine-Catamarans at Alstonville. Sailfish Marine is an Australian leader in its field, manufacturing aluminium catamarans for recreational and professional use. Currently it employs 14 staff and is another exciting business doing well in the national boat market. It has identified occupational health and safety paperwork issues and a lack of clarity in this area as main concerns. In addition, I visited Headlands Beach Resort. This Lennox Head accommodation complex is experiencing solid occupancy and the strength of the Ballina-Byron gateway airport is a significant factor. People are now able to fly direct from Melbourne and Sydney to Ballina by jet, further opening this region to visitors.
These three businesses show the strong diversity of business in the Ballina electorate and their confidence in our area. Another business doing well is TP Health, formerly known as Thursday Plantation, which recently celebrated its thirtieth birthday. TP Health began as a two-person band in the bush and created the world's first tea-tree plantation. This business now employs more than 100 people and has 40,000 visitors to the Ballina site every year. TP Health is currently valued at $40 million and distributes products in over 30 countries throughout the world. It has major plans for expansion.
In conclusion, I would like to mention a very special event I attended at Teven-Tintenbar Public School. On 11 August students were able to take part in a once-in-a-lifetime event—speaking live with an astronaut as his space station orbiting over our side of the earth. Students had eight minutes to ask questions of NASA astronaut Jeff Williams via a satellite radio hooked up at the school by some local radio enthusiasts. Speaking with someone in space from a small country school in northern New South Wales was an experience I will not forget quickly and one that I am sure will remain with Teven-Tintenbar Public School students for the rest of their lives.
