Parliamentary Speeches
Brook Farm Gourmet Food Company ( 10/04/2008)
Mr DONALD PAGE (Ballina) [4.45 p.m.]: I to bring to the attention of the House the outstanding achievements of Pam and Martin Brook, proprietors of Brook Farm, a gourmet food manufacturing company located in the hinterland of Byron Bay. Pam and Martin Brook first purchased a property at St Helena in 1989 and planted 4,500 macadamia trees. They moved to the property on a permanent basis from Melbourne some 10 years later. They shared a vision of producing gourmet macadamia products. Two years after moving to the property and developing their products they reached the manufacturing stage and today produce gourmet roasted macadamia nuts, macadamia oils and a range of beautiful muesli products. Their business has grown and become enormously successful since commencing production and they now sell their products Australia wide and internationally to the United States of America, Canada, Europe, Japan, Scandinavia, India and South-East Asia. They have recently appointed a US sales manager to man their office, which opened on the west coast of the United States in January this year, and are opening a new factory in the Byron Bay industrial estate in two weeks.
I applaud Pam and Martin Brook for their vision, their dedication to producing high quality products and the inspiration they provide to other small and medium business operators. This type of value adding in our horticultural industries is to be encouraged. I commend their leadership in this regard and their can-do approach to value adding. Their achievements have not gone unnoticed. Recently they won the 2007 Telstra Australian Business of the Year Award. Brook Farm shared the honour with a Northern Territory business, SRA Information Technology. Previous winners have included software, manufacturing, design and engineering companies. Brook Farm is the first food manufacturing company to win the award. At the same awards ceremony it also won the 2007 National MYOB Award for businesses employing between five and 20 people. Brook Farm was chosen for the Australian Business of the Year Award from 3,800 nominations and 137 finalists. It is an incredible achievement.
Pam and Martin Brook's good work has enormous benefits for the Ballina electorate. They provide much-needed employment for 17 staff. Their products are GM free and showcase the very best produce available in the Northern Rivers region to the rest of Australia and internationally. They regularly exhibit their products at food shows and expos Australia wide. In their early days, they began selling their muesli range at the local Bangalow market, a popular Sunday destination for thousands of locals and visitors. Pam and Martin Brook are wonderful examples of what small businesses can achieve and the benefits they bring to their local community. They continually promote our clean green image for our North Coast region. The contribution they make to the local economy through employment, retailing and promotion is extremely valuable and deserves a great deal more support and encouragement from the New South Wales State Labor Government than it currently receives. Pam and Martin are passionate about the area they live in and remain loyal to the local area. However, if they were to move their business across the Queensland border, less than one hour from their current location, they would enjoy much lower payroll tax, fewer State taxes and much lower regulatory burdens than they endure now as New South Wales business operators.
As member for Ballina I sometimes despair at the effects this State Government is having on businesses such as Brook Farm. It is no secret that the leading lights of the New South Wales business sector are leaving in droves. I am grateful to Pam and Martin Brook for their diligence and loyalty to our region, but I fear that the North Coast is losing too many good business operators to Queensland and other States. The flow-on effect of the loss of even one small business is felt throughout the local economy. Who can blame small business people for leaving when their operating costs can be so dramatically cut in other States?
I have long supported The Nationals' one-on-one-off policy for the introduction of new regulations. This policy is aimed at reducing the regulatory burden on small businesses in this State, but the State Labor Government has rejected it. I also support the harmonisation of cross-border regulations. Many businesses in the Ballina electorate, due to their proximity to the Queensland border, regularly face dealing with completely different regulations when doing business in Queensland. This situation only adds to the excessive burden of regulation imposed by the New South Wales Government.
I sincerely hope that the State Government implements tax and regulatory reform before too many more small businesses leave New South Wales, especially businesses like Brook Farm, which is a leader in its field. Again, I sincerely congratulate Pam and Martin Brook and the staff at Brook Farm on their marvellous achievements, including being this year's Telstra Australian Business of the Year, and the benefits they bring to the Ballina electorate.
