Keith Pitt (Hinkler, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

In Bundaberg and Hervey Bay, it's business awards season, and there are some cracking businesses that have been recognised in both Bundaberg and the bay. I can't name them all in three minutes, but I have to point a couple of them out.

In the Bundaberg and District Chamber of Commerce Awards, the Personal Services Business of the Year award and the People's Choice Award went to The Place Hairdressing, Kiralee and the team down there. I can tell you: you see them just about everywhere. They've got a bit of an attraction to the track; they seem to like some of those events. It's good to see them out there, very proud of their business and the work that they do. The Trade, Industrial and Manufacturing Business of the Year award went to Arcon Metals Recycling. It is very valuable work that they do in the local region.

There are a couple of big ones. The Agribusiness of the Year award went to Macadamias Australia and the Tourism Visitor Attraction Business of the Year award went to Lady Musgrave Experience. Both are very well-known businesses in the local region. Macadamias Australia have an incredible story. They started as a family farming organisation and still are. They started as tomato and sugarcane growers and have now expanded into macadamias, macadamia processing and tourism. Brett Lakey and the team at the Lady Musgrave Experience keep wading through all that red and green tape to operate on the reef, but they provide an absolutely incredible tourism experience out there. Those two organisations are joint winners of the Business of the Year award.

Down on Hervey Bay, in the Fraser Coast Business and Tourism Awards, the Best Fraser Coast Business award—who'd have thought it?—went to a whale business, Whalesong Cruises. If you want to see the whales, there is nowhere better than Hervey Bay. It's nice and calm. It's always a wonderful experience there. We have so many thousands of veterans in the local region in Hervey Bay, and the Hervey Bay RSL does a great job and provides lots of support. One of my personal favourites in retailing—and I'm sure this is no surprise to those who are listening—is Pie and Pastry Paradise, a fabulous shop. It's very tempting every time you go past.

I also want to give a shout out to the winner of the Events and Event Management award: Dunga Derby. What an Australian name! Since 2015, this four-day car rally has been running and delivering money to the Rally for a Cause charity. They have raised $2.4 million since 2015. Major sponsors are Hyne Timber and HBW Foodservice. The donations go back to local families in need in the Hervey Bay area. What a great way to do it—a four-day car rally raising money for the local community. It's a lot of fun, and I'm really pleased they have been recognised.

The Education Provider of the Year award went to Riverside Christian College. The Community and Charities Award went to the Hervey Bay Neighbourhood Centre, who do such a wonderful job helping the homeless and others who are less fortunate. Congratulations to Tanya Stevenson and, of course, to the chairman, Bernie Whebell. They work incredibly hard in what is a difficult area of social services and support. They've been great supporters locally and they continue to do a great job. I'm so pleased that they've been recognised in the prestigious awards for the Fraser Coast Business and Tourism Awards held on 11 November.