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

In recognition of outstanding contributions to the mining industry and unwavering commitment to Tasmania, Dale Elphinstone in the electorate of Braddon was recently inducted into the prestigious United States National Mining Hall of Fame. This achievement is made even more extraordinary as he is the first inductee from outside the USA.

Dale Elphinstone is indeed an incredible individual and a pioneer of the industry on the north-west coast of Tasmania. He is probably the most grounded bloke I know. He is a bloke that left school at 14 to do a diesel fitter's apprenticeship in the local Caterpillar dealership. Many years later, he owned that dealership. Some years after that, he owned all the dealerships. Through hard work, through vision and through concentrating those efforts at a target, he was able to achieve great things. The Elphinstone Group now employs more than 2,900 people internationally. They have a combined annual revenue exceeding $1.5 billion, and they operate in 10 countries.

The crazy thing about all this is that this driven individual achieved all this without an arts degree. He did that with drive. He did that with determination. He did that because he prioritised what was important. And, to Dale, people are important—the people that he surrounds himself with, that he has on the production lines and that he has in his R&D. 'The process, the people and the professionalism,' he always says. He has a saying, and it's a saying that I often repeat to school graduates as I visit the schools. It goes along the lines of 'You just gotta wanna,' meaning it doesn't matter where you come from, your position in life or what you have or have not got. The point is that if you 'wanna' then you'll get there. That determination encompasses and embellishes the life of Dale Elphinstone.

I congratulate him on all that he has done. He's been a great contributor in philanthropic activities along the coast, even donating an MRI machine to the local hospital. So he is a bloke that's giving back. Not only has he given back in his manufacturing process, but he has given many people the opportunities that they need. If I could sum Dale up, that saying he has, 'You just gotta wanna,' should be written on every school leaver's report card as something to achieve. Well done, Dale, and well done, the Elphinstone Group.