Natasha Griggs (Solomon, Country Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

If any members in this chamber doubt the health-giving properties of fruit, then I refer them to page 7 of the NT News 3 September edition, which says, `Eating fruit every day can reduce the risk of heart and artery disease by up to 40 per cent, a study has found.' Daily fruit ingestion can cut the overall risk of death by nearly a third.

With those life-changing statistics in mind, I rise today to pay tribute to Ed Howard aka 'the Nightcliff Market Fruit Guy', who retired on Sunday, 31 August after 18 dedicated years selling dried, exotic and mouth-wateringly fresh fruit. Buying fruit from Ed was not just a retail experience; it was an education, and for dozens of regular customers it became a way of life—especially for Nightcliff resident Camden Smith. Ed would say: 'Like pineapple? Then how about the prickly leaf variety—sweeter and juicier than their smooth leaf cousins. Fond of mangos? Try a mangosteen instead,' described by Ed as the queen of fruit. 'White dragon fruit instead of red? Try it with a squeeze of lime for a tingling taste sensation.'

Ed, we loved your work. Goodbye, and thanks for the fruit.