RURAL WOMEN'S CONFERENCE

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO (14:36): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before asking the Minister for the Status of Women and the Minister for Regional Development a question regarding the Bigger, Better, Brighter: Vibrant Rural Women conference.

Leave granted.

The Hon. CARMEL ZOLLO: The Bigger, Better, Brighter: Vibrant Rural Women is a conference held for rural women and their networks. Can the minister tell the chamber about this conference?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (14:36): Last night I was very pleased to be able to attend the networking portion of the Bigger, Better, Brighter: Vibrant Rural Women conference and have the opportunity to speak to attendees at that conference. The conference was dedicated to encouraging women living and working in rural and regional South Australia to approach challenges in a big way. It encouraged them to tackle the big issues, think big and imagine a big future, and in doing so it sought to empower tomorrow's industry leaders.

The conference was committed to personal and professional development and the women in attendance enjoyed workshops and speeches on those themes. Topics covered included effective communication, engaging with social media, work-life balance, and making a difference in their communities. The afternoon session looked to the future and the importance of women's grassroots involvement in shaping the future of agriculture, rural communities and policies.

There were a number of talks by quite impressive guest speakers: Roma Britnell, farmer and community and industry advocate; Michelle Prak, social media consultant; Cath Duncan, strategic thinker, executive and business coach of Get Real coaching; Jeannette Long, facilitator, trainer and coach of Ag Consulting Co; and Dawn Sangster from the Alliance Group.

I was very pleased to be able to discuss last night an issue of great importance, that is, women's leadership positions. The challenges to women to achieve senior positions in business are obviously complex and numerous. Despite the social shifts and legislative changes that have occurred to improve to some degree access for women, we know that on the domestic front women are still shouldering the large component of domestic care. The juggling of these responsibilities alongside career aspirations often means that women struggle to achieve their career progression in the same way as males are able to.

Conferences like these are of great importance for rural women to be able to establish a support network to help them overcome these hurdles. When women network and support and celebrate the achievements of other women they can find themselves building a foundation, which for many is very helpful in enabling them to grow success. It is vital that rural women have a voice in shaping the policy responses that affect them. The Jay Weatherill government understands why this is so important and that is why we support rural women's leadership by funding activities that will build leadership and the representative capacity of women and girls living and working in rural, regional and remote communities.

I was pleased last night to open the nominations for the scholarships recently announced by Premier Jay Weatherill and me for women to attend leadership development with the Australian Institute of Company Directors. We have contributed funding for 25 women to be given the opportunity to increase their skills and confidence through participation in the Foundations of Directorship—Governance for New Directors course.

Preference for these scholarships will be given to women from rural areas, Aboriginal women, women from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds and women with a disability. This training will enable the scholarship recipients to feel more confident in their knowledge of governance and board operations, and it is my hope that it will help pave the way for greater participation of women.

I was also pleased that PIRSA was able to provide $50,000 to both DairySA and Ag Excellence Alliance to fund projects that support further development of women's leadership capabilities, culminating in that conference. The DairySA grant was provided to run a program under its 2BHerd network, mentoring a core group of 10 women in business leadership skills and networking. That conference was the concluding project of this grant.

Ag Excellence Alliance was formed in 2005 in response to the need to provide support and engender collaboration amongst the established and emerging broadacre farming systems groups across our state. The second grant was provided to Ag Excellence Alliance for funding to provide 15 women access to the Australian Institute of Company Directors' Foundations of Directorship Certificate.

I am sure this chamber will join me in commending these two organisations for their recognition of potential women leaders in rural areas and the support that they give those women to develop themselves.