Minister Scriven,
AFTA Hall of Fame members.
Distinguished Guests, ladies and gentlemen.
There’s an old saying: when the tide goes out, you discover who has been swimming against the current. The true measure of leadership isn’t what people do when everything is easy. It’s what they do when times are difficult, when challenges seem overwhelming, and when everyone else is waiting for someone else to act.
Leaders don’t step forward because it’s convenient. They step forward because it’s necessary.
It has been a tough year for South Australia’s fishing industry. The Harmful Algal Bloom and the restrictions that followed put enormous pressure on businesses, communities and families who rely on recreational fishing.
The SA Government support helped keep our trade alive through it — and we’re extremely grateful for that. But government support alone doesn’t deliver outcomes. It takes people within an industry who are prepared to step up, advocate relentlessly, and turn support into results on the ground. Which brings me to the person we honour tonight with the AFTA Industry recognition award
There’s another saying that feels particularly apt: success has many fathers, but failure very few and while many people contributed to what our industry achieved this year, one individual drove much of it.
Someone who never asks whether something is her responsibility, but instead asks what needs to be done. Someone who, no matter how deep or murky the waters get, jumps in with both feet.
That person is Alicia Bolitho.
As a driving force behind Tackleworld Port Lincoln and Port Augusta, and as an AFTA Director, Alicia has become one of the most respected and effective advocates for recreational fishing and the tackle trade in South Australia. Her contribution goes well beyond her own businesses. She has worked tirelessly to secure support for tackle stores, promote fishing participation, strengthen regional communities, and make sure the voice of recreational fishing is heard wherever the important decisions get made. She understands the challenges facing regional businesses because she lives them every day.
More importantly, she acts.
She has championed freshwater fish stocking programs, new fishing opportunities, improved fisheries management, and initiatives designed to grow participation right across South Australia.
Perhaps most significantly, Alicia has led community fishing education programs for school-aged children across the Eyre Peninsula — programs that have given real benefit to young people, Indigenous communities and disadvantaged groups. They’ve built confidence, strengthened community connections, and helped the next generation form a lifelong bond with fishing and the outdoors
That’s not just industry development. That’s leadership and Alicia does all of this while travelling extensively across the state, often in a voluntary capacity, making sure tackle retailers and recreational fishers are properly represented.
Very little happens in South Australian recreational fishing without Alicia involved, engaged, or pushing for a better outcome.Her influence isn’t confined to South Australia, either. As an AFTA Director, Alicia has represented our industry with distinction nationally — always willing to step forward, often at short notice, with professionalism, conviction, and a genuine care for our industry and the people in it.
The respect she’s held in was on display just this week, when Alicia was named Tackleworld Champion of the Year 2026. For those of us who know Alicia, that came as no surprise at all.
There’s a quote on leadership that captures her perfectly: “A leader is not someone who creates followers. A leader is someone who creates more leaders.”
That is exactly what Alicia has done — encouraging others to engage, contribute, advocate, and make a difference. Her legacy isn’t just the programs she’s built or the outcomes she’s delivered. It’s measured in the people she’s inspired along the way.
So tonight we recognise not only an outstanding industry advocate, but an outstanding person — someone who has consistently put the interests of others ahead of her own.
Alicia — thank you. For your commitment, your leadership, your friendship, and for always answering the call when our industry needed you.
The South Australian tackle industry is stronger because of you. Regional communities are stronger because of you. AFTA is stronger because of you.
On behalf of the Australian Fishing Trade Association, our Board, our members and the wider recreational fishing community, it gives me enormous pleasure to present the 2026 AFTA Industry Recognition Award to Alicia Bolitho.
Ladies and gentlemen, please stand and join me in congratulating Alicia Bolitho — recipient of the AFTA Industry Recognition Award and Tackleworld Champion of the Year 2026.
The Hon Bob Baldwin
Chair
AFTA