The 93rd annual State Conference of the Country Women's Association of NSW was held recently in Tamworth and was attended by in excess of 600 delegates who represented branches from throughout NSW.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Weather caused a slight delay to the arrival of some of the guests and called for the agenda to be re-arranged.
Finally, accompanied by bagpipers in full Highland kit, the executives and distinguished guests entered the main auditorium of the Tamworth Regional Entertainment and Conference Centre to the resounding applause of the hundreds attending the event.
Following the national anthem, the association anthem and the motto, delegates were welcomed by State President of CWA, Mrs Tanya Cameron.
Gomeroi Aborigine Elder, Aunty Yvonne Kent delivered the Welcome to Country and Deputy Mayor, Councillor Russell Webb welcomed all visitors to Tamworth before the conference was officially opened by David Hurley, retired Governor of NSW.
Key note speaker, Professor Mary O'Kane, NSW chief scientist and engineer, spoke about her role and responsibility in consulting with academia, industry and government to ensure that scientific knowledge and research can be adapted and used to benefit all of NSW.
Also on the speaker's list was Edwina Beveridge, Deputy Chair of NSW Farmers Pork Committee and runner-up in the 2014 NSW-ACT RIRDC Rural Women's Award. Edwina spoke fluently and at length about the problems confronting the pig industry and particularly about the health issues associated with unauthorised entry into restricted pig-farming areas for the purpose of installing "spy equipment''.
Karen Willis OAM, Executive Officer of Rape and Domestic Violence Services Australia and Natalie Isaacs, Founder and Co-Executive Officer of 1Million Women, a movement established to recruit one million women in Australia to cut a collective one million tonnes of green-house gas pollution, added to the overall interest of the conference.
Ms Isaacs' claim that the average Australian household runs 70 electrical appliances was certainly food for thought.
Motions on the agenda for debate included:
o a petition submitted on behalf of Hermidale branch requesting CWA of NSW to adopt a policy "to support the legislation of the growing, manufacture and distribution of marijuana for medicinal purposes only''.
o a proposal from Warialda branch that "CWA of NSW lobby financial institutions to provide a 'fee free' ATM in each small country town''.
o that the policy of CWA of NSW be that general practitioners in NSW be strongly encouraged to bulk bill all health care card holders.
These and other motions were successfully debated, voted on and carried and will now be discussed at executive level before being put before the relevant governing bodies for approval.
