Shadow Minister Media Releases
Regional Business Among NSW Telstra Business Award Winners (29/07/2009)
A regional business has won two prestigious awards, showing that given the opportunity, regional businesses can compete effectively with any other business in Australia, Shadow Minister for Small Business, Don Page said today.
“The NSW Telstra Business Award winners are to be congratulated for their commitment to their vision and standards of excellence that has brought them recognition through these Awards,” Mr Page said.
“These NSW businesses are succeeding despite operating in the highest taxing and most heavily regulated State in Australia,” he said.
“Ballina based Kimberley Kampers’ success is sending a clear message to the NSW Government – that regional businesses are vital to the economic success of NSW and must not be held back by the Rees Labor Government,” he said.
“In particular I would like to congratulate Bruce Loxton and his team at Kimberley Kampers who are setting an exceptional example to all regional small and medium sized businesses with their ongoing success and recognition,” Mr Page said.
Kimberley Kampers took out two awards at the recent NSW Business Awards. They won the Best Medium Business in NSW and the AMP award for Most Innovative Business in NSW.
“The NSW North Coast is also home to the 2007 Telstra Australian Business of the Year winners, Brookfarm who manufacture a variety of value added macadamia and other products. It is a wonderful testament to the high standard of businesses and innovation on the North Coast for another regional NSW business to be represented at the National Telstra Business Awards,” Mr Page said.
The other award winners for NSW were Publisher Textiles, who won the NSW Business of the Year and Businessowner Micro-Business Award, Unimail Pty Ltd who won the MYOB Small Business Award and Financial Management Solutions who won the Sensis Social Responsibility Award.
There are currently 58 employees working directly for Kimberley Kampers. There has also been an additional 6 fibreglass contracting positions created locally to service the high demand for Kimberley’s products.
“Regional businesses are vital to the recovery and prosperity of the NSW economy. The incompetent Rees Labor Government continues to fail NSW small and medium sized businesses, especially in regional areas where electricity costs are about 50% higher than their city counterparts (see KPMG report),” Mr Page said.
The NSW Award Winners will now go on to the National Awards Ceremony to be held on 20th August where the 2009 Telstra Australian Business of the Year will be announced.
