“I chose to become a community development worker because spending time with people is what fuels my creative energy. Whether it’s a meeting at the local village hall, the opening of an inner city garden or a cup of tea with my neighbours, I like nothing better than having a yarn and finding out about people’s lives. So I was excited at the recent opportunity to visit the city of Emerald, in QLD’s Bowen Basin, to speak with local women about the development of a toolkit to help rural communities prevent violence against women.

My first impression of the Bowen Basin was red dirt and road trains! You see, I have spent most of my life living in small coastal towns, it’s like the saltwater is in my blood. Whenever I go ‘out bush’ I feel like I’m in another country! The people sound different, eat different foods (no soy milk!) and have different customs. It’s a welcome reminder of the amazing diversity of our great country.

I was really impressed to see a diverse bunch of about 20 women turn up to the consultation. Some of them even arrived before us, having travelled over two hours just to attend. It was humbling to know that these women had taken time out of their busy lives to hear about and contribute to the work we were doing.

They told us about the challenges they faced addressing violence against women in their communities. They said that there was a pervasive attitude that violence against women ‘didn’t happen’ in rural areas. This meant that sometimes both men and women were reluctant, or even-offended, to discuss the topic. Sadly, we were told that there is sometimes little empathy for women who experience violence, especially in communities where everyone was ‘doing it tough’.

They wanted information and advice on how to broach the topic of violence against women in ways that engaged, and didn’t isolate, rural communities. In the typical, pragmatic way of rural women, they wanted to know ‘what worked’ when it came to primary prevention of violence against women and wanted the toolkit to contain lots of practical ideas and simple steps to getting projects started at a community level.

Most importantly, the women we spoke to wanted things that could be integrated into their existing work. With money, resources and caseloads severely strained, they simply didn’t have time to be taking on a bunch of new projects.

As we concluded the consultation it struck me that if the National Plan to Reduce Violence Against Women and their Children has any hope of achieving its goal, then it is women like this, in communities like Emerald, all over Australia, that we need to be engaging in violence prevention work.

After another long trip, I arrived back home full of creative ideas and inspiration for the toolkit. Next month I am off to Broken Hill in outback NSW to continue talking to women about this important piece of work”.

This project is a partnership between the National Rural Women’s Coalition, the Australian Women Against Violence Alliance and the QLD Centre for Domestic and Family Violence Research. Funding for the project has been provided by the Australian Government Office for Women.

Keep an eye out on the NRWC website www.nrwc.com.au and FaceBook page and AWAVA’s website www.awava.org.au, for more updates as the project develops.

A live webinar will link women from all over the world to the meeting. Entitled “Networking Rural Women” the event will demonstrate how the virtual rural women’s network operates and the power of that Network to not only link women farmers and rural women in Australia but potentially women all over the world.

What is CSW?

The Commission on the Status of Women

The Commission on the Status of Women is one of the nine functional committees of the UN Economic and Social council …this year the key focus is on Rural Women, specifically The empowerment of Rural Women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.

The Australian government will participate in discussions in New York and then be expected to implement recommendations made at CSW. There will be two other events at CSW.

Networking Rural Women: Program

From 18 – 21 October 2012, South Australia will host the eighth Regional Arts Australia National Conference, the largest arts gathering in Australia.

Do you have a great idea that you’d like to share in a panel, presentation or workshop?  If so, please consider submitting a nomination.
If you know anyone else who might be interested in nominating, please send them the link to this page.

Following the success of Junction 2010 in Launceston, the conference will be a survey of the nation’s latest regional arts practice and thinking, informing us of where we are now and indicating signposts to the future. You will swap stories, exchange ideas, be refreshed and re-energised alongside the opportunity to experience some of the nation’s best work from regional artists, organisations and communities.

Goolwa 2012 is a conference for professional artists, arts workers, volunteers, local shire and council employees interested in fostering and maintaining their local arts and culture.
We encourage you to present your ideas, workshop or presentation in a creative, inclusive and innovative way.

To help spread the word about this opportunity to participate.

Applications close on Tuesday 28 February.

Visit www.artsalexandrina.org.au to discover how you can be involved.

The topics are in the following areas:

• The impact of financial counselling on families
• Income management and vulnerable families
•   Early intervention and homeless families
•   Teenage parents and welfare reform
•   Community-based programs, parenting and social inclusion

Exact details of projects will be negotiated with the candidates, supervisors and the Salvation Army.
More information is available on the CFRC website: http://www.iec.mq.edu.au/research/cfrc/cfrc_home.jsp

Please contact Dr Peter Whiteman <peter.whiteman@mq.edu.au> or Professor Jennifer Bowes <jennifer.bowes@mq.edu.au> or go to the Macquarie  University website at:  http://www.hdr.mq.edu.au/information_about/scholarships/hdr_scholarships_omestic_and_international<http://www.hdr.mq.edu.au/information_about/scholarships/hdr_scholarships_domestic_candidates_only>whichncludes

for information about how to apply.

A select group of leaders from across NSW have been named recipients of the Royal Agricultural Society of NSW’s (RAS) 2012 Rural Achiever Award.

Eight young aspiring, rural-minded individuals from across NSW were selected for their contributions, achievements and leadership within the rural sector and their local communities. The successful candidates were chosen from a strong field of applicants in three separate judging sessions held in Wagga Wagga, Tamworth and Sydney.

The 2012 RAS Rural Achievers are:

· Anna Redden, Somerton – Media & Public Relations Consultant – agricultural and rural sector. Anna also assists with the management of her family’s Angus stud.

· David Gale, Campbelltown – Graduate Officer, NSW Department of Primary Industries

· Hayley Rutherford, Deniliquin – Assistant Manager, cattle stud

· Kylie Jonkers, Cowra – Farmhand, Stud Groom and Agri-Business student

· Matthew Irwin, Inverell – Currently studying Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery

· Patrick Buckley, Theresa Park (Camden) – Manager, family dairy operation

· Prue Capp, Gresford – Owner-operator, Essential Equine Dentistry

· Rebecca Byrne, Moree – District Agronomist, NSW Department of Primary Industries, and part-time Rural Science student

RAS Senior Manager Agricultural Development and Youth Initiatives Jodie Dean said winning the title of Rural Achiever can be an important step in helping young rural Australian’s achieve their ambitions and kick-start their careers.

“These young individuals represent the future of agriculture and the RAS is proud to foster and support the growth of such wonderful ambassadors who help put regional NSW on the map,” Ms Dean said.

The Rural Achiever Award has provided 183 young Australians with a wealth of opportunities, spanning more than two decades. Recipients of the Award have reaped the benefits.

“The award continues to open doors for the new generation of agriculture for personal development and to take the chance to make great contacts and network with industry leaders,” Ms Dean said.

Winners receive an all-expenses paid, behind the scenes experience at the 2012 Sydney Royal Easter Show, 5 – 18 April, a share in $17,000 prize money – kindly provided by The Land and the RAS – a 12-month complimentary RAS membership, a dynamic professional development and communications workshop and the opportunity to be selected for the Woolworths Agricultural Business Scholarship Program.

Recipients will also be invited on a tour of Rural Press – home of The Land newspaper and to official functions at Parliament House and Government House.

Along with benefiting from the experience of being a Rural Achiever, winners will have the opportunity to take advantage of many career networking opportunities and build their skills in areas such as public speaking.

Further information, images and interview requests:

Anna Phelps, RAS Coordinator Media & Public Relations

t: (02) 9704 1471 m: 0408 657 451 f: (02) 9704 1222 : e aphelps@rasnsw.com.au

Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Senator Joe Ludwig, has recently announced the first round of the $99 million Action on the Ground program to help farmers cash in on Australia’s clean energy future.

Action on the Ground is funding to help farmers over the next six years to trial and demonstrate on-farm practices and technologies that reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as methane and nitrous oxide or increase soil carbon.

Minister Ludwig, who visited an on-farm demonstration site near Mildura, said the program will provide landholders, researchers, industry, government and non-government groups with funding to address the sources of agricultural emissions.

“Action on the Ground will provide farmers with support to develop the tools to mitigate the impact of climate change and help Australia meet its emission reduction targets,” Minister Ludwig said.

“The first funding round of competitive grants will commit up to $25 million between now and 2015.”

The program is a part of the Carbon Farming Futures Fund under the government’s $1.7 billion Land Sector Package.

Funding can be used to help reduce methane emissions from farmed animals and their waste; improve fertiliser use to reduce nitrous oxide emissions; and the planting and rotation of crops and grazing practices to reduce emissions from soils or increase carbon stored in soil.

“Today I visited a demonstration site near Mildura, managed by Mallee Sustainable Farming in partnership with the Birchip Cropping Group,” Minister Ludwig said.

“This is one of the many on-farm demonstration sites that have been established as part of the National Adaptation and Mitigation Initiative, a $9.5 million partnership between the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and the Grains Research and Development Corporation.

“The work on display here in Mildura is a preview of the great things to come for the agriculture industry thanks to funding programs such as Action on the Ground.

“Anyone interested in reducing on-farm greenhouse gas emission from the agricultural sector or increasing carbon stored in soils should make the most of this funding opportunity.”

To find out more about eligibility and how to apply for the first round of funding, visit the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry website at:

www.daff.gov.au/climatechange/carbonfarmingfutures/action-on-the-ground.

The one-year scholarship has a value of $4,800. The scholarship holder will also have access to mentoring support from an experienced dentist who is based in regional New South Wales.

The NSW Regional Dentistry Scholarship is supported by Senator John Williams,The Nationals Senator for NSW, and is administered by the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA). When he announced the establishment of the scholarship Senator Williams said:

“The last available figures are a stark reminder of the lack of oral health specialists in regional areas where there are just 30 per 100,000 people compared with double that number in major cities. Remote areas fare even worse with just 20 dentists per 100,000 people. I hope in some small way this scholarship will eventually assist a country community.”

Scholarship Applications are now open and will close on 25th February, 2012.

Application Forms are available for download on the National Rural Health Alliance website:

National Rural Health Alliance NSW Regional Dentistry Scholarship

For more information on this scholarship, download the flyer below:

NSW-RDS Flyer-2012_HighRes

Jen Mackenzie, Mining Manager, Norwich Park Mine, QLD.

Last month’s Women in Industry Conference in Sydney saw the launch of a new alliance of women working in the resources industry by the industry body, the Australian Mines and Metals Association (AMMA).

The new alliance is called the Australia Women in Resources Alliance (AWRA) and one of its key aims is to increase women’s participation in the mining industry.

The AWRA is planning to launch a series of strategies to increase the attraction and retention rate of women in the resources industry.

AMMA are working in partnership with the industry and the Federal Government’s Critical Skills Investment Fund for the project, which will implement recommendations from the National Resources Sector Workforce Strategy.

“Increasing the number of female workers in the resources and allied construction sectors has been identified as an essential strategy in meeting the industry’s escalating demand for workers,” AMMA director Minna Knight said.

“AWRA will build on many of the industry initiatives and networking groups already doing things for female resources workers, this project now gives us an opportunity to unite all these organisations under one banner and take a nationally co-ordinated approach.”

Under the AWRA project, the focus will be on identifying gaps in the application of policy and practices at worksites “while also developing guidance and assistance in terms of worksite best practices and female workforce development,” Knight added.

The NRWC are excited to see the development of this much needed organisation and look forward to their success.

For more information, visit: http://www.miningaustralia.com.au/news/mining-women-initiative-launched

“We have had an overwhelming response to the program, receiving nearly 60 applications – it just shows the way of the future in providing professional development for rural women who are otherwise isolated and unable to access traditional methods of training,” said Darriea Turley, President of the National Rural Women’s Coalition.

The Building Leaders topic was presented by Barb Madden, Queensland 2009 RIRDC Rural Women’s Award and National Runner-Up Award recipient and co-owner and chief financial officer for Smithfield Feedlot near Proston in Queensland. Barb led the session using the software Bb Collaborate (formerly Elluminate) which allows the participants to speak to each using audio and video camera options, as well as the ability to engage in active learning using virtual workshopping features.

One of the 20 participants involved in the initiative, Kate Broughton, who lives on the family’s broad acre cropping farm at Trangie in central western New South Wales, praised the program for giving practical advice on how to develop personal leadership skills. Though the Broughtons are right in the middle of a wheat harvest, the online delivery mode allowed Kate to participate in what is normally a hectic time for their family operation.

“This was a very interesting topic for me as I have never considered myself to be a leader and I have been the one behind the scenes getting on with the job.”

“It has made me think about why I think like this and how to address the fears I have associated with making mistakes. I also learnt that I already have some of these skills – so I don’t need to start from scratch to develop leadership skills.”

“I am really looking forward to all the forums and webinars to come,” said Kate.

Participants will also network and share resources using the NRWC’s online networking initiative, the National Rural Women’s Network (www.nrwn.org.au). One-on-one direction and support will be given to each person involved through the associated mentor program.  The E-Learning and Leadership Program is free and supported by funding from the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry under Australia’s Farming Future.

To find out more, or to register for future programs, contact Sandra Stoddart 03 5422 3238 or s.stoddart@nrwc.com.au.

You can download this post as a media release with the accompanying images form our Media Centre.