Tasmania’s Premier has used a visit to the state’s most remote distillery to highlight how regional businesses are helping drive economic growth and support essential services.
Jeremy Rockliff dropped in to Furneaux Distillery on Flinders Island on Tuesday as part of a regional election tour that will also take him to King Island and Smithton in the coming days.
The distillery, which has been operating from its new location at Sawyers Bay for about a year, is part of what he says is a booming spirits industry, with more than 80 distilleries now spread across rural and regional areas.
“It’s important that we appreciate the regions in Tasmania,” he said.
“The reason why it’s so important to visit places such as Flinders Island, King Island, the east coast … west coast of Tasmania, the Huon Valley, the Tasman Peninsula, is that rural and regional Tasmania support and sustain a growing economy.”
Cass Pullman, a still hand and cellar door operator at Furneaux, said the business runs on a “paddock to bottle” model.
She said they grow their own barley on the island and only have to take it down the road to turn it into spirits.
“This is something very new and people’s response to it is amazing,” she said.
Rockliff said the success of small businesses like this helps “create the wealth” that support the wider community.
“That’s why it’s so important in campaigns and indeed outside of campaigns, to ensure that you are listening and understanding the needs of rural and regional Tasmania,” he said.
“That’s why we’ve got a very strong tourism and hospitality policy. That’s why we continue to invest in marketing to bring more visitors to Tasmania.”
