Anne Urquhart (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Thursday I attended the opening of the Duck River Meadows dairy and cheese factory in Smithton in the far north-west of Tasmania. Back in 2012 an announcement by the then Labor regional development minister, Simon Crean, and the then Tasmanian Premier, Lara Giddings, started the journey of future of investments in the dairy industry in this region of Tasmania. They paved the way for the opportunity for the new dairy and cheese factory by funding the trade college to the tune of $4.25 million and a further $1.5 million to extend power along Harcus River Road, allowing beef farms to convert to dairy farms. Today on this site stands a new robotic dairy and cheese factory—a dream of Genaro and Rosselyn.

Along the walls of the cheese factory's public viewing area there are a number of information posters telling visitors the stories of dairy, cheese and butter making from around the Circular Head region from the 1840s to today. It highlights the vision of Milan Vyhnalek, who, in 1955, set up the Lactos Cheese Factory in Burnie and who is now the owner of the famous King Island brand of cheese. One of these posters introduces the cheesemakers at La Cantara. I'd like to read their stories outlined in the poster. It says: 'Their journey in Australia started in November 2009 when they arrived in Brisbane to study English as a second language. In 2010, their lives took an unexpected turn due to the political situation back in the Venezuela. A protection visa was granted in October 2011. Genaro and Rosselyn have both trained as veterinarians in their home country, and this facilitated the process of finding their first job in country Queensland as farmhands on a beef cattle property.

Their passion for dairy started with their next position in northern New South Wales in 2012. After gaining dairy experience over the next few years, they then moved to the beautiful north-west of Tasmania in July 2016. After two years at Arthur River Park dairy, they settled in Edith Creek as share farmers. They put a great effort into farming and took pride for what they were able to achieve. In April 2020, they were awarded the prestigious 2020 Fonterra Share Dairy Farmer of the Year Award.

Over the years they have been making some Venezuelan-style cheeses at home, all considerably basic and without much technical knowledge. They had identified several incredible opportunities in the industry, and one was that they were in the prime dairying area of Tasmania. What better way to celebrate this than turning that milk into beautiful local cheese. Genaro enrolled in a formal course at the New Zealand Cheese School, where the Australian cheesemaker Neil Willman taught him the fundamentals of cheesemaking. Later in 2019 they founded La Cantara Cheeses. Its name translates to a stainless steel milk can in Spanish, and it essentially represents their origins and the traditional aspects of the dairy industry.' That's what was written on the poster.

We had a look at some displays of cheese. A couple of them were new ones that they were trying. Some were rolled in coffee and a couple of others had been injected with whisky. I'm very keen to try that when it's ready. They're certainly bringing some entrepreneurial initiatives into the cheesemaking industry in this small corner of the north-west of Tassie. I sincerely wish Genaro and Rosselyn the very best in their exciting new venture.

Senate adjourned at 19:53