EW STEPHENS TRUST SCHOLARSHIPS

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:21): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries a question about agriculture.

Leave granted.

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS: Demographers tell us that the population bulge of baby boomers, who have sustained out society for such a long time, is giving way to smaller latter generations. So, there is the need for renewal to make sure that we have young people trained to take the place of their elders. This, I am sure, applies in agriculture, as it does in other areas of endeavour. Will the minister advise of recent opportunities provided to young South Australians who are engaging in studies in agriculture?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for Tourism, Minister for the Status of Women) (15:22): I thank the honourable member for his most important question. I know the member has a very keen interest in ensuring that young people have opportunities. As someone who grew up in a regional township and who travelled (initially very reluctantly, I have to say) to the city to further my education, seeing young people from the country gain an opportunity to further their studies is something I am very committed to, and I believe it is a very important thing.

Taking that first step into the unknown can be a very difficult thing for kids from the country. Not only do they leave the familiarity of their home but the physical surroundings of a city, even one as liveable as Adelaide, can be very foreign and very daunting, and the tyranny of distance can mean that it is very hard to get back home regularly to see family and friends. So, it was a great pleasure for me to participate in the presentation of scholarships funded by the EW Stephens Trust to young South Australian women who have set their signs on studies in Agriculture.

It was interesting when I shared stories recently with two young women who are now living in Adelaide. One of them told me that she travels home every single weekend and that every Sunday, when she leaves home to come back to Adelaide, she cries. I can certainly empathise with that. I certainly went through a very difficult period myself, where I would go home every single weekend and then travel back to the city. It was heart-wrenching to leave every Sunday, I have to say. I was able to reassure her that that does pass. I certainly learnt to love the city I studied in and then worked and lived in for some time before I moved here.

This trust was set up about 20 years ago due to the bequest provided by a former builder, the late Ernest Stephens. The annual scholarships assist students from the country, particularly isolated areas, to undertake courses of study at senior secondary or tertiary level. The scholarships have provided assistance to students to pursue a range of academic areas, including veterinary science, agriculture, science, maths and social work, as well as helping secondary students to complete years 11 and 12. The South Australian Farmers Federation administers the trust, which has provided $145,000 in assistance since 1990. I acknowledge the valuable contribution SAFF plays in administering that fund and its good work.

We know that education can open doors and bring opportunity and a variety of life experiences. It is so important that our young people be given every chance to undertake and further their education as much and as far as they can. That opportunity should not be limited by distance or access. It was especially pleasing to me that this scholarship has been awarded to two very promising young women from regional areas.

Amy Gutsche, aged 19, from Yorketown (at the base of the Yorke Peninsula), is working on a three-year Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences at the University of Adelaide. She is a keen netballer, who worked as a receptionist in 2011 to help fund her studies. She plans to return to the country on the completion of her course.

Emma Spaeth, from Wilmington in the Mid North, comes from a mixed cropping and grazing farm and completed year 12 at Boolaroo Centre District School. She has demonstrated her interest in animals and I understand has had some practice in showing her Maine-Anjou stud cattle at regional events. She plans to follow that up in the future with studies in science that lead into the veterinary path and develop into breeding quality cattle in the years to come.

Both these fields of study are very appropriate, because today's farmer obviously needs a wide range of skills in a number of areas. A successful modern farmer can be very much a technologist, climatologist, engineer, marketer, livestock or crop expert, business planner, the list goes on. The E.W. Stevens scholarship program is an important way of recognising the achievements of rural students and encouraging them to excel in their fields of interest.

It was very pleasing to congratulate Amy and Emma in person and to meet with their families and play host to them in Parliament House. It is great to see their families encouraging them. Again, I congratulate them on their diligence in their studies and their families on providing the supportive and encouraging environment which has enabled them to win this scholarship support, and I look forward to hearing more about their successes in the years to come. I am sure Ernest Stevens would be delighted with the quality of the recipients of his award, and would anticipate both contributing to the productivity of agriculture in this state.