Joel Fitzgibbon (Hunter, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Minister for Agriculture and Resources) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to support the proposition put forward by the member for Mallee, and I congratulate her for doing so. The story of rural and regional Australia is one of challenge, hardship and opportunity. This vast country of drought and flooding rains and those who have worked its natural resources are an iconic part of the Australian story. For almost 100 years, the women who are part of the Country Women's Association have been a crucial part of the story too. The formation of the CWA in 1922 was borne out of the shared struggle of rural families facing all the challenges you'd expect to be put in front of them as a result of isolation, or in some cases just relative isolation. The organisation's 1,855 branches boast 44,000 members. Despite all the changes in our society over the past 98 years, including of course on the technology front, the CWA is as relevant today as it was in 1922. What a tribute that is to the founder, Ruth Fairfax, and all those who have been and are involved in the organisation. In 1922, and for a long time after, women had very little role to play in the production of our food and fibre. Thankfully, we are a far more enlightened society today, and the skills and talents of Australian women are put to use in management, production and, of course, still in family roles. They can do it all. They are a part of policymaking and advocacy too—a key role for the CWA—and, of course, the current president of the National Farmers Federation is Fiona Simson.

Members of the CWA are often recognised for their cooking and craft skills. I can attest to some of those talents—I have been the beneficiary!—as can, of course, millions of other Australians who have benefited from their work. But cooking and craft are, of course, just a sample or a part of the work done by the women who make up the CWA. It is just a small part, really, of the work they do in our local communities.

Just as their work was so important during the Great Depression, their work has come into its own during floods and droughts, including the most recent drought, when we all saw the CWA playing a very, very important role. They are crucial when our rural Australians are facing the challenges put up by this great country of ours. Of course that's also been true throughout the course of this terrible COVID-19 period that we have been challenged by.

The CWA is also an organisation which is not fearful of speaking an independent mind, always. I think that's a very, very important part of the success and longevity of the organisation. Just this year, for example, the CWA expressed deep disappointment at parts of the government's response to the drought and assistance to drought-affected families. Indeed, the CWA described the $500 voucher for drought affected families as 'disappointing, infuriating, insulting, and disrespectful'. It's a matter of public record now that the CWA refused to be part of the distribution of that voucher system. An independent voice is exactly what rural and regional Australia needs, and it is something that it has enjoyed from the Country Women's Association.

I have a number of branches in my own electorate. I have had a lot of engagement with the women who formed those branches. I hold community morning and afternoon teas in various towns around my electorate, and more often than not I hire the CWA hall. It is a perfect quid pro quo, because I get to host my morning teas in a quality venue, and the CWA ladies get a donation from me as a result of those meetings—I pay very happily—and often provide the cup of tea and the sandwiches for those occasions. What a wonderful organisation. What a wonderful celebration. What a wonderful motion this is. It's been my great pleasure to support it.

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