Jonathon Duniam (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'm pleased to contribute to the senators' statements today and very pleased to be talking about the wonderful state of Tasmania. I'd like to touch on a couple of things today, starting with the Tasmanian Craft Fair, a wonderful event that I was able to volunteer at just a couple of weekends ago along with many members of the Deloraine rotary club, who do a fantastic job putting on this very large event. As I understand, it's the largest craft fair in the Southern Hemisphere. It takes place in the beautiful, picturesque, little town of Deloraine in northern Lyons in the state of Tasmania. This year, the event just past was the biggest event they've had for some time, despite some of the weather we experienced in the early days. Held each year in early November, it's a great opportunity for local crafts men and women, artisans and makers of fine food to put their wares on show to show the rest of the world what we do well in Tasmania. The number of visitors who come from interstate and overseas just to participate and attend that fair is amazing. It is a great testament to the volunteers who put it together. In particular, I'd like to pay tribute to Leslie Dare, who was the coordinator of this year's event, and the hundreds of volunteers who manned the stands and sorted out the logistics for the day. It was absolutely fantastic to see the effort that went into it.

This year, the Deloraine rotary club are using some of the funds raised from the event to provide financial support to the Meander Valley SES rescue unit to buy a much-needed battery-operated combi tool, otherwise known as the jaws of life—a vital piece of equipment which will assist the SES and other volunteer organisations to do their job in a regional community that often experiences accidents and other disasters where tools like this are needed. Well done to the rotary club and those who supported that event.

In particular, I'd like to pay tribute to and commend those who won awards at the craft fair, including Jean Swinyard Ceramics, who was awarded the Premier's Award for Excellence; Bridget Farmer, who was awarded the Best Working Exhibit Award; Jennifer G Frost, who was awarded the Stand Presentation Award; Australian Landscape Jewellery, which received the First Time Exhibitor Award; and, probably the best award I think, which is the Providores Award, went to 7K Distillery. I look forward to getting along to next year's event, and I encourage as many of my Senate colleagues as can come to be there. It's a great event, and it will run from 1 to 4 November 2019.

I also had the good fortune recently to visit the Gagebrook and Bridgewater community houses in Tasmania. Community houses provide a vital service to many communities that are, in some respects, disadvantaged. It was a pleasure to spend time with the crew who run those two particular community houses and examine some of the innovative ways they're looking to support their community and provide a service that they feel the community is benefitting from. The Gagebrook Community Centre, along with its sister house in Bridgewater, services the Brighton municipality and offers a range of programs to local residents. In particular, there is the Waterbridge Food Co-op, which is a wonderful community project that provides fresh, locally grown produce at an affordable price to local residents. In communities where there is social and economic disadvantage, the choice of dietary intake is often substandard. So this community house has come up with this great initiative—supported by the Tasmanian and Australian governments in the past, and I hope that it will be supported into the future—whereby fresh fruit and veg and other produce is made and put on offer for local residents to partake in. Frozen meals are also made at the Waterbridge Food Co-op, from the very affordable price of $3.50 per meal. I have been spruiking this to local businesses in the Hobart area, saying they should get onboard and support this great community house and buy healthy food options for their workplace lunches.