Rowan Ramsey (Grey, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last night I had the great pleasure of attending the annual Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation's Rural Women's Award in the Great Hall, which celebrates women in agriculture. It is an event where state finalists of the award come together to be judged to find an eventual winner. It is a fantastic event. We were addressed by last year's winner, Pip Job, from New South Wales. Pip reflected on her year's experience and her project, which was about women's involvement in the landscape and being very much in touch with sustainable management of our land mass and our production. We were also addressed by Minister Barnaby Joyce. He provided a very entertaining speech where he challenged us all to see how we could get more women in this place and involved in mainstream politics.

Then we had the introduction of the state finalists: from the Northern Territory, Dr Sally Isberg; from New South Wales, Cindy Cassidy; from Queensland, Sherrill Stivano; from Victoria, Katie Finlay; from Western Australia, Tress Walmsley; and from Tasmania, Carol Bracken. Carol was named as the runner-up for the award. She is a hazelnut grower from Glengarry in the Tamar Valley. The farm was established just five years ago and the family has now over 5,000 trees. Carol and her husband are instrumental in growing the hazelnut industry in Tasmania.

From my point of view, at least, we saved the best for last. I speak about the South Australian finalist, Sarah Powell, who was named Australia's Rural Woman of the Year. For me this was especially rewarding because Sarah comes from a very small town, Darke Peak, which is close to where I live. That is where she was raised on a family farm. The family, unfortunately, lost control of the farm with the high interest rates during the 1980s. Her father moved into Ozbulk, and she spent some time then in my home town, growing up in Kimba, and her first employment was there. Later on her family moved to the Riverland and then eventually to Queensland where she took on a range of jobs including being CEO of one of the regional development boards.

She had a very interesting and varied career. Then she came back to her hometown—she came back on a visit—and she was depressed by what had happened to so many of the communities she grew up in. What had happened to the schools? What had happened to the shops? They were gone. What had happened to the local football clubs? Amalgamated. She met the love of her life there, and a family will be on the way soon with her partner, Caleb, but she decided to take the situation in hand. She recognises that even now the sporting clubs that remain in these country communities are the most strongly structured and have the most ability to bring people towards them to work for the common good within their community.

With that, she launched Ports academy, and that was the project that won her the state award. She brings together a number of nominated young people within the district, and they get a number of sessions with local mentors and some sporting mentors, to build their capacity to be future leaders within their community. It is a great project, and I am very proud of what she does.

Some of the things she raises, though, some of the issues there, are very salient points for all of us who represent rural Australia. She made the point, in fact, the night before. We had dinner with a young fellow who plays football in north-eastern Victoria. They were in the process of amalgamating the last of the teams in their league to become one club and then go on and join the next league, as happens in rural Australia all over the place. They had a counter: 50 years ago there were 58 clubs, now there is one.

That is the story of rural Australia, and how we reinvigorate our industries. Every year, I commonly say, Australian farmers will grow more food, more fibre. They will grow it at a better quality and it will be a great outcome for Australia. It will be a great outcome, in my case, for South Australia. It is quite good for the farmers still involved. But it is an absolute disaster for the local communities, as we see our populations empty out. How we find new industries, how we attract new people into these towns, is the great conundrum for all of us. I would just like this parliament be aware of it, and I congratulate Sarah Powell on her fantastic victory.