WOMEN IN AGRICULTURE AND BUSINESS

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (15:14): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries a question about women in agricultural leadership.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: In many industries, women often face hurdles or barriers taking on leadership roles. I understand that this is also an issue in our primary industries. In the past the minister has provided information about one industry which had taken steps to assist women to build their leadership skills. Given that yesterday was International Rural Women's Day, can the minister tell the chamber more about support for women to become future primary industry leaders?

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) (15:15): I am delighted to be able to spread the word on how agriculture is stepping up to the plate and has the national spotlight on it. We have just last week seen a South Australian woman recognised as Rural Woman of the Year 2012. It is wonderful to see that our own Mary Retallack, whose expertise is in viticulture, will be assisted to build a website which will create a network for women in wine.

Ms Retallack, a third generation viticulturist from Crafers West in the Adelaide Hills, was presented with the award at Parliament House in Canberra last week. She is a particularly deserving recipient of the national award because of her work as an ambassador for the wine industry over the past 18 years and also because of her work which will help support other women who work in the sector. I again congratulate Ms Retallack for her vision and hard work. Sharing knowledge, experience and networks is a strength which I believe women are renowned for.

Members may recall that I provided some information about the dairy industry's efforts in this regard through the 2BHerd program, which is a program delivered by Dairy SA bringing women in the dairy industry together. I am sure members will be aware of my ongoing belief that mentoring, support and conversations between women in the industry can have very positive outcomes. Obviously, these are issues which I am very passionate about, as Minister for Agriculture and also as Minister for the Status of Women.

The 2BHerd leadership development program is an excellent example of women working together to support and develop one another which focuses on women's leadership from December 2011 to April this year. The program provided eight dairy women across the state with the skills needed to actively and productively participate in dairy industry committees, boards and projects with confidence. Throughout the 2BHerd development program, participants were coached on how to be involved in industry leadership.

Of course, we know that what is so often true is that, while women have the skills they need to progress in their chosen industries, they can often lack confidence in their own abilities, and I have every confidence that programs like these illustrate to participants that they are much more skilled than they think are, whilst also helping them to develop new skills.

This year I am pleased to announce two $50,000 grants from the government through PIRSA for leadership development of women in the rural sector. One grant is for Dairy SA to run a program under its 2BHerd network, mentoring a core group of 10 women in business leadership skills and networking. Dairy SA will be calling on women in the dairy industry to apply in the next couple of weeks.

The program will start in February 2013 and conclude in April with a conference on how to get into leadership which will be open to all women working in the dairy industry. I had the opportunity to talk to the program's participants at the April 2012 event and I was very impressed with their enthusiasm for hard work and self-improvement. It is great opportunity for women who are enthusiastic about the dairy industry to grow their skills.

In addition to opportunities for these women, I am very pleased to announce a second grant to the Ag Excellence Alliance that will use funding to provide 15 women with access to the Australian Institute of Company Directors' Foundations of Directorship Certificate. Ag Excellence Alliance Inc (Ag Ex) was formed in 2005 in response to a need to provide support and engender collaboration between established and emerging broadacre farming systems groups across the state.

From its beginning as a single project driven group funded through the National Landcare Program, Ag Ex has now expanded its influence and operations, managing a range of projects from a diversity of funders that contribute to the sustainability of farm businesses across the state through close collaboration with and support for farming systems groups. Beginning as a group which sought to ensure extension of research to the farmer, it has broadened its work to create the excellence on which South Australia's enviable reputation in food, wine and agricultural produce is based.

I can today announce that a grant of $50,000 has been made to support the Alliance's work to upskill women and to put them on a firm footing to provide leadership in their sectors. The Alliance has been successful in leveraging the grant to gain additional funding to provide follow-up activities and to coordinate ongoing professional development with the Dairy SA project. The Alliance has begun to publicise this opportunity through flyers and the like, aimed at encouraging women in agriculture to apply.

Dedicated business mentors from the institute will host the first session in February 2013, which will cover governance, risk and finance issues. I commend these two organisations for their recognition of the potential leaders who can be groomed and developed to build a stronger agricultural sector in the future.