Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I am very pleased to stand here tonight to congratulate the winners of the McLaren Vale Regional Awards, which I was very pleased to attend last Friday night at Hardys Tintara Winery. The idea of these awards is to recognise businesses and individuals in the local area who have been doing more than is required to make the region not only a wonderful place to live but also a great place in which to do business. While often we recognise McLaren Vale as a great place for wine and food—and I am sure everyone in the chamber does—there are a lot of other businesses in the local community servicing the local region and also making it a great tourist destination.

At these awards there are many nominees. The awards are run by the McLaren Vale Business Association, which has a membership from a whole range of businesses and services in the local area and especially focuses on local businesses that need to operate and serve the McLaren Vale region. The McLaren Vale Business Association is made up of volunteers who dedicate a lot of time to promoting businesses and tourism in the local area. These business awards are one way that the business association celebrates businesses in the area. I was pleased to attend and I have to say that the enthusiasm in the room and the excitement was the most I have seen for some time. I have never been to the Academy Awards but I imagine that if I had I would have seen much more enthusiasm at the McLaren Vale Regional Awards than at the Academy Awards. That is the positive attitude that these business owners and individuals put into their businesses. It was a great opportunity to celebrate with all of the small businesses.

These awards have been going for nine years and have grown in stature every year. With the community and businesses being involved in the nominations, there were over 80 nominations that I am aware of for only 10 different categories of awards. So this year was a very much contested award. I have been told that the judges had a very difficult choice.

It was a wonderful night, because we were celebrating not only local businesses but also the involvement of other community groups. The staff and students from Tatachilla Lutheran College provided wonderful entertainment and delicious food. A number of different areas were recognised. These included manufacturing and trade, home based businesses, professional services, retail and new businesses. The awards also recognised individuals. The ‘best employee’ was Jan Carpenter, who has provided an outstanding service at the McLaren Vale Chiropractic Centre. The ‘best youth employee’ was Chris Thomas, who works at Willunga Tyre and Battery Service. Chris and his friends were really excited by the night. With young people like Chris around, there is certainly a very positive future for McLaren Vale. The individual customer service award went to Jan Tuitt from Australia Post, who delivers parcels in the local area. The joke was made on the night that there are very few places that Jan has not gone to; she knows where everyone in the area lives. That has meant that she has been able to provide great service.

So some really wonderful people were acknowledged, and it was really exciting. But, of course, there can only be one winner, and that was determined by a vote from the winners of all the categories on the night. The winner, by popular vote, was Artel Gallery and Giftware in McLaren Vale. This is a small family business that stocks all local produce—crafts, cards and a whole range of local giftware. It is a wonderful place to visit and certainly improves tourism in the area.

I will conclude by congratulating the McLaren Vale Business Association and all the volunteers, including David Cavanagh and Sandra Sharp, who put a lot of work into the night. I wish them all the best for the coming year. (Time expired)