Brian Mitchell (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last night I attended the AgriFutures Rural Women's Awards held here at Parliament House, and I was delighted to meet with Tasmanian finalist Bec Lynd, the owner of Big River Highland Beef, in the Derwent Valley, in my electorate of Lyons. Big River Highland Beef produces Scottish Highland beef for the local market, and I've no doubt that under Bec's stewardship it will be into the international market sometime soon. For those who don't know, Highlanders are those beautiful hairy cattle with the very big horns. Something that makes Bec and her Big River operation unique, particularly within Lyons, is that she does not have a farming background. Somehow, she just decided one day, 'I'm going to be a beef farmer,' and she's done a magnificent job. She is a wonderful young woman. Bec and her partner—also named Bec—have built up their successful business through hard work, diligence and a commitment to researching best practice.

Bec is an amazing young women, as I said. She's the co-founder of the local growers market, Big River Grower's Market. The aim of the market is to encourage local producers to share their bounty with the rest of the community. It's making a real difference in the Derwent Valley and producing some beautiful food—berries, fruit and other produce. It's really important that places that produce great food don't export it all or don't get rid of it. Local people have got to be able to enjoy what they've produced to get the full benefit of it.

Big River Highland Beef is the only commercial producer of Highland beef in Tasmania. Bec told the audience at last night's dinner that people thought she was mad to go into Highland beef. They certainly don't have the yield of commercial beef cattle, but Bec's philosophy is to use the entire beast. She doesn't accept the notion of secondary cuts, and she works hand in hand with chefs to ensure that they treat every cut with respect. Bec didn't win the national award last night—that went to WA's Tanya Dupayne, who runs a camp in Kulin in WA's Wheatbelt for women and kids recovering from trauma. She's a very worthy winner.

Bec from my electorate hopes to visit abattoirs around the world and Australia so that she can learn more about slaughtering and develop a plan that ensures her cattle are treated as ethically as possible when it comes time for them to head to the big pasture in the sky. As she said, it's not just a story of paddock to plate but one of paddock to processing to plate. Best of luck, Bec and Bec—I look forward to catching up with both of you at your gorgeous property and hanging out with your beautiful and tasty Highland cattle.

Meanwhile, I'd just like to congratulate the organisers of the AgriFutures Rural Women's Award dinner last night. It was a fantastic evening, and every state finalist was fantastic. I'd like to commend Westpac's Business Bank CEO, David Lindberg, who, hands down, gave one of the best speeches I've ever heard from a corporate leader. All in all, it was a wonderful night. Congratulations to everyone.