Fiona Phillips (Gilmore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last week I had the pleasure of attending the Slow Food South Coast annual local Producers Grant and Snail of Approval awards at Ulladulla. Over 100 local producers were at this wonderful event celebrating our slow food producers. Slow Food South Coast is the largest slow food organisation in Australia. Being a slow food producer can be a difficult task. There are so many external factors that impact on whether you have a good season or a bad season. It is tough work. Sometimes farming can be a lonely job but having a strong community, like that of Slow Food South Coast, can make the world of difference.

In my electorate on the New South Wales South Coast we are uniquely placed to take advantage of this growing global hunger for good, clean and fair food. We have a large local farming community producing amazing local food. We have an industry crying out for support, suffering through the drought and high unemployment. But we probably have one of the key ingredients—a huge tourism industry. Slow Food South Coast is doing so much to educate, celebrate and support our community, and I'm pleased to be able to show my appreciation for that. Thank you to the event organisers, the leader of Slow Food South Coast, Rosie Cupitt, and committee members. Thank you to all the local slow food producers for going slow and coming together to support each other.