Gavin Pearce (Braddon, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Health, Aged Care and Indigenous Health Services) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I spruik Tasmania's world-class dairy industry a fair bit in this place, and today I'm going to milk it even more! Dairy is the largest segment of the Tasmanian agricultural industry. With just two per cent of Australia's population and less than one per cent of Australia's landmass, Tasmania produces more than 10 per cent of the nation's milk. My passion for this great industry has again been vindicated. The 2023 Australian Grand Dairy Awards have just been announced, and the winners are: King Island Dairy Stokes Point Smoked Cheddar was awarded Champion Flavoured Cheese. Ashgrove Pure Cream won the Champion Cream award. Duck River Premium Butter claimed the Champion Butter award, and Elizabeth Town's Van Diemens Land Creamery impressed the judges with its lemon curd ice cream, winning the Champion Full Cream, Ice Cream or Gelato award.

The north-west and King Island are blessed with fertile soils, reliable rainfall and the cleanest air in the world, all of which underpin our premium-quality dairy products. Our region is also home to the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture's dairy research centre at Elliott. At this site, world-leading research is being undertaken to boost productivity, profitability and sustainability of the wonderful Tasmanian dairy industry. I wish the industry all the very best.