Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Hansard source

This Saturday I will have the pleasure of being in Yamba to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the local Yamba CWA. It started on 6 March 1945. The current secretary, Leonie Saunders, and treasurer, Raylene Blood, do a great job. They have 17 active members: Dr Elizabeth Allworth, Christine Bowden, Elaine Brew, Libby Cotter, Sandra Douglas, Josephine Edgar, Ione Elphinstone—who is their oldest member and who turned 95 today, so, happy birthday—Carolyn Fox, Pat Halliday, Nyssa Lesniak, Alice Nott, Yvonne Smithson, Joan White, Gay Wiseman and Bev Wilson. I congratulate them all.

As we know, the CWA is the largest women's organisation in Australia. It aims to improve conditions for women and children in regional areas. The Yamba branch supports an adopted child in Grafton who is handicapped. They have raised money to fit out a car to make it wheelchair friendly. They also raise money for local school and end-of-year prizes and raise money that goes to head office, which offers scholarships. Each year, the club studies a country and this year it is Italy. Again, I wish the Yamba CWA a very happy 70th birthday and I look forward to celebrating on Saturday morning what they have done in our community.

See this speech in context