Small Business

Dr HARVEY (Newland) (15:37): The last 18 months have been a challenging time for businesses, families and individuals right across our state, including in my community in the north-east. Managing the health response well in South Australia by accepting the science and following the expert advice has placed us in as good a position as anywhere in the world to weather this one-in-100-year storm and come out the other side stronger than before.

Small business is the backbone of the South Australian economy. Thanks to the efforts of small business owners, their staff and the support of local communities, these businesses are leading the economic recovery of our state out of the pandemic. As small businesses grow, they create jobs, and these are opportunities for young people to get a start and for others to pursue their dream career and to help families put food on the table. I would in particular like to acknowledge the efforts of a number of local businesses that have taken risks and had confidence in what they do and in the direction of our state during these challenging times.

There is a local microbrewery I visited with the Premier just on the weekend. I must confess that I have been to it a few times now. SixTwelve Brewing is run by Brad and Alison. This is a great example of innovation and passion. SixTwelve, the name of the business, is in fact named after Brad's height. He is seven foot tall. He is former a basketball player too, so he is quite tall. Brad has been passionate about home brewing for a very long time and had been making it in his back shed for a number of years. In very recent times, in fact 12 months ago, he expanded that into a shopfront offering on Tolley Road in St Agnes, in what used to be a mechanic's shed.

His business has been in operation for about a year and has been going incredibly well. The beer is flowing fantastically through his business there, and people, particularly from the local community, are supporting it very strongly. It is a great atmosphere and a very unique offering, and I must say the beer is fantastic as well. I would very much like to congratulate Brad and Alison on what they have created. These are people who are willing to take risks and do the work to create opportunities that are great for our local community and that also help create jobs.

At the weekend, with the Premier I also recently visited Geoff to check out the recently expanded Rock Solid gym on Tolley Road. The gym is locally owned by Geoff, and it also supports many local sporting clubs, including the Houghton Football Club and the Tea Tree Gully District Football Club. It has been a very challenging time for gyms through the pandemic, but Geoff has had confidence in South Australia and for the community in the north-east to invest and expand the gym, also creating opportunities for jobs as personal trainers or other positions at that business. It is a very impressive training environment in terms of how it is presented, with fantastic equipment, a basketball ring and a half court in the centre of the facility.

Floors 2 Go is another great business on Tolley Road, run by Martin Roantree. They do flooring, such as floating floors, carpet and much more. He has worked very hard through COVID and has a very strong following, but he is also a very strong supporter of the local community, whether it is through local fundraising efforts or supporting local suppliers for his business.

Frankie and the Grocer is another very new business owned and run by Daniel. It is a fruit and veg store at the St Agnes Shopping Centre with not only fresh produce but many other very useful items. In fact, it had only been opened for a couple of weeks prior to the Modbury cluster, which was certainly not ideal, but thankfully he has a great offering and the community is really getting behind and supporting him. It is a fantastic example of someone investing locally in our community and creating local jobs.

I also recently visited the Hope Valley Cafe and Pizzeria, a business owned by Andy. He has been in business there for 12 months. It is on Grand Junction Road, just the other side of the hotel from the Hope Valley Shopping Centre. It has fantastic food, and I had a delicious burger there. I am told there wood oven pizzas are as good as any, and I am certainly looking forward to getting into those more thoroughly down the track.

Jamie is the new owner at the Tea Tree Gully Coffee Shoppe in the last 12 months or so. He is investing and revamping that business, and doing a great job. There are many other local businesses that I could acknowledge, but I am certainly running out of time. Small business is the backbone of our economy and driving the recovery of our economy out of the pandemic, providing local opportunities for employment in good jobs and contributing significantly to the livability of our local community. So do yourself a favour. These are businesses that support our community, so let's get behind them and support local where we can.