Justine Elliot (Richmond, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

It was fantastic to attend the Business Excellence Awards Tweed Shire, or BEATS, on Saturday night. Our local small businesses are the heart of our local economy and our communities, and the BEATS was a magnificent celebration of all they have to offer. Around 200 people gathered at the Murwillumbah Civic and Cultural Centre for the sold-out gala night, which saw finalists across 18 categories go head to head for the respective titles.

Congratulations to all the winners and the nominees, especially to the winner of the award for best community or social service non-profit organisation, which was Tweed Palliative Support, who also won the award for best business overall. Thanks also to the many sponsors and for the general community support for this great event. I would like to acknowledge the organisers, Toni Zuschke and Natascha Wernick, both of whom did an outstanding job again in showcasing the local business community and arranging a truly magnificent evening.

It is also important to note that all of the produce and businesses sourced for this event are from the Tweed Shire. Special mention must also go to Jonathan, Mel and all the team from Ju Ju's restaurant, who provided the outstanding three-course meal for the event. Also, the performers were just fantastic, especially local superstar 17-year-old Nina Baumer, who recently appeared on the TV show The Voice. She was remarkable. Congratulations to all of the businesses that were nominated and acknowledged for their excellence in a range of fields at the BEATS. It was a great occasion to showcase the great diversity of businesses that we have right throughout the Tweed Shire and indeed right throughout the North Coast of New South Wales.