Michelle Landry (Capricornia, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise today to inform the House of some good news for the northern part of my Capricornia electorate. Sugar is our second-largest agriculture industry, based around Sarina and Mackay. Sarina is home to Australia's only miniature sugar mill and distillery, the Sarina Sugar Shed. The Sarina Sugar Shed is a wonderful tourist attraction where visitors can enjoy a guided tour to see how sugar is grown, processed, milled and distilled in the unique miniature mill. It is the only distillery in Australia that produces its own syrups to produce a unique alcoholic range of liqueurs based on local sugar.

The centre has taken out three major trophies at this year's prestigious Queensland Tourism Awards. These include gold in the Tourism Wineries, Distilleries and Breweries category, gold in the Excellence in Food Tourism category, and bronze in the Tourism Attractions category. It is the second time the Sarina Sugar Shed has been awarded gold in the Excellence in Food Tourism category.

The Sarina Sugar Shed is a popular agritourism attraction, bringing about 8,000 visitors annually to the town. This has a flow-on effect to employment and contributes to more than $1.5 million of added value directly into our local economy.