Safe Families, Safe Communities Joint Forum In Gympie: Thursday 24th June 2010 20th April 2010: The modern age brings a lot of benefits but it also has its own unique threats. And you can find out more about what they are and how you can protect against them when the Gympie branch of QRWN and the The National Council of Women Inc jointly host a "Safe Families... Safe Communities" forum in Gympie on Thursday 24th June 2010. This all-day forum will be officially opened at 10:00am by QRWN Joint Chair Wendy Agar and she'll be followed by keynote speaker Detective Sergeant Peter Dearing from the Queensland Child & Sexual Investigation Unit, who'll be addressing the topic “Who’s chatting to your child?” The thought provoking program will also include presentations by Cindy Hartwig (“Who’s Number 303?”) and Beryl Spencer (“Boundaries creating security for your family?”) and the day's speakers will be followed by an open discussion time. The forum will be held at the Ridgewood Hall and morning tea will be served at 9:30am before the 10:00am start. Tickets are $25 (which includes lunch) and they'll be available at the door on the day. You can get a PDF flyer about the forum by clicking here. You can also find out more information about the event - including how to get to Redwood Hall - by phoning Rosemary Burnett on (07) 5486 1248 or by emailing her.

Applications Now Open For NCWQ 2010 Bursaries 14th April 2010: The National Council of Women of Queensland Inc. (NCWQ) are offering three bursaries of $1,000.00 each to young Queensland women to assist with educational expenses in 2010. One bursary will be awarded to a female unaccompanied humanitarian refugee (this bursary will be administered by Mercy Family Services); another to a young woman from regional Queensland and a third - the inaugural Senator Boyce Bursary (sponsored by Senator Sue Boyce) to a woman with a disability. The inaugural NCQW bursaries were awarded in 2009 and the Hon. Annastacia Palaszczuk MP, Queensland Minister for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs presented the winners with their bursaries at a luncheon held at the Parliamentary Annexe on Thursday 16 July 2009. Details and application forms for the 2010 bursaries are available from the NCWQ website or from the bursary coordinators Noela O’Donnell (phone (07) 3846 4418 or email her) or Gloria Kirkness (phone (07) 3300 5118 or email her). Photo: Minister for Disability Services and Multicultural Affairs Annastacia Palaszczuk presenting the inaugural NCQW bursaries at the Queensland Parliamentary Annexe in 2009.

2010 State Conference Website Launched Today 12th April 2010: With the chill winds of Autumn just starting to bite, Spring may seem a long way away - but preparations began today for the QRWN's 2010 State Conference. And it looks like it's going to be a blast! This year we'll be holding our State Conference in the far west. It'll be held at historic Charleville Racecourse on Friday 3rd September and Saturday 4th September 2010. And today we unveiled our 2010 State Conference website to officially announce that this important annual project is now out of the starting gates. Right at the moment our 2010 Conference team are hard at work preparing the 2010 Conference forms; organising speakers, workshops and trade displays; and attending to the million and one details that surround this very popular annual get-together. But as new things are added, we'll be writing about them on the 2010 Conference website's front page. So bookmark it now (if you haven't already) and check it from time to time to see how things are progressing. And make sure you put the 3rd and 4th September in your diary too. It's going to be great!

QRWN Welcomes Two New Board Members For 2010 7th April 2010: The QRWN is very pleased to announce the appointment of two new board members for 2010 - Denise Quinn (pictured at left) and Tammy Pelizzari (pictured at right). Tammy will be joining Linda Silburn in the QRWN's Partnerships portfolio, while Denise will be partnering with Ann Houston in the QRWN's Capacity Building area. Denise comes from Allora and has been running has been running her own successful consultancy as a professional speaker, facilitator and business coach since 2001. She holds a CSP, M.A., M.Ed and GAICD. With her unique focus on business growth and developing entrepreneurial skills, Denise is well known throughout Queensland for her successful original programs "Leadership Forum for Executive Women" (business development and personal growth for corporate women), the "Rural Women's Forum Program", and now the RRR Women Business Mentoring Program which empowers and equips women on the land with the confidence and business skills they need to make an even greater contribution to their lives, their families and to rural life in Australia. Tammy, meanwhile, comes from Mossman in far north Queensland where shes owns and runs a successful plantain banana, taro and sugar cane farm in partnership with her husband Steven. She's also the mother of two very active boys aged 12 and 10 (David and Mark) and her chief roles on the farm are accounts management, packing supervision, marketing and quality control - jobs which require her to travel to Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne each year to speak with agents and keep a check on the produce. Tammy is very passionate about the role of women in agriculture and believes it's imperative to have women in positions of importance throughout all areas of the agricultural industry. She also believes that encouraging young people into the agricultural industry is imperative for the long term survival of rural communities. Both Denise and Tammy look forward to getting to know QRWN members through the coming year. And we're very pleased to have both of these dynamic women as part of our 2010 management team! Photo: Denise Quinn (right) and Tammy Pelizzari (left) are looking forward to meeting members over the coming year as they take up their new roles on the QRWN's board.

Former QRWN Admin Officer Named As RIDC Queensland Rural Woman Of The Year 17th March 2010: An advocate for the kangaroo harvesting industry (and a former Queensland Rural Women's Network administrative officer) has won the 2010 Queensland Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation’s (RIRDC) Rural Women’s Award. Sharyn Garrett - now the executive officer of the Booringa Action Group at Mitchell and a partner in a kangaroo harvesting enterprise - was announced as the winner at a gala event in Brisbane on March 10th. Minister for Primary Industries, Fisheries and Rural and Regional Queensland Tim Mulherin said the award recognised Sharyn's contribution to Queensland’s primary industries. "The Rural Women’s Award celebrates Ms. Garrett as an innovator and reflects her commitment to sustainable growth in the industry," the Minister said. "Her vision is for landholders and harvesters to work co-operatively to recognise the value of kangaroos as a resource rather than a pest. This award shows that her contribution to a valuable Australian industry, and her determination to promote the industry in the future hasn't gone unnoticed." Ms Garrett will promote the Maranoa Kangaroo Harvesters and Growers Co operative Ltd to landholders who perceive the kangaroo as detrimental to profitability. The co-op will enable landholders to share in the profits from the kangaroos on their properties. As the winner, Sharyn will receive a $10,000 bursary which she plans to use to develop a business strategy for the Maranoa Kangaroo Harvesters Co op. Her project will review current operations and provide recommendations to assist the co-op to become an even more efficient and sustainable operation in the future. The success of the co-op, in turn, will enable more effective kangaroo management at a cross-property level, ensuring production objectives are met and total grazing pressure is alleviated. Sharyn will also attend the Australian Institute of Company Directors’ Course in Canberra and will be in the running to be named the national winner of the award.

Agents For Change Forum: Oakey, Saturday 17th April 2010 10th March 2010: The North East Downs Landcare Group will be holding a special one day "Agents For Change" forum for women at the Oakey Cultural Centre at the corner of McDonald and Campbell Streets in Oakey on Saturday 17th April 2010 between 8:00am and 4:00pm. The forum will feature discussions on the social and on-farm impacts of climate change; networking and expert training about how to become an Agent For Change in your local community; a fashion parade during lunch; and some on-ground detecting sessions. The forum is being jointly finded by North East Downs Landcare and the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, so admission is just $10 per person. You can obtain more details and/or reserve a seat by phoning Glenys Bowtell on (0428) 751-070 or by emailing her. You can also get a 2-page brochure about the Agents Of Change forum in PDF format by clicking here.

Free All-Day Forum For Rural Families In Kilkivan On Saturday 20th March 2010 1st March 2010: Members of the Gympie QRWN Branch are helping to coordinate a special forum in Kilkivan at the Kilkivan Town Hall in Bligh Street on Saturday 20 March called “Our Rural Community – Focusing on the Future”. This free all-day event is aimed at families with a special focus on men’s and women’s health and farm safety. It will be compered by local identity Mike Webb and special guest speakers Billy Moore (former rugby league player) and Jean McRuvie will kick-start the day. There’ll be talks on farm safety by QRWN member Cindy Hartwig, talk for kids about quad bike safety, “Pit Stop" health checks and the CHSN health van for the men. There'll also be face painting for the kids and pampering for the ladies. Morning tea and lunch will be available too. Leading the project are FOCUS, a subsidiary of the Sunshine Coast Division of General Practice. The group approached Gympie QRWN to support the project and our ladies have taken the ball and run with it!! The day is also being made possible by Centrelink, who'll have rural advisors on hand to help with enquiries. For further information about the day, contact Rosemary Burnett on 5486 1248, Cindy Hartwig 5482 2203 or click here. Photo: The Kilkivan Town Hall in Bligh Street, Kilkivan will be the centre for a special (and completely free) all-day forum for rural families on Saturday 20th March.

Empowering Women Forums Coming To Barcaldine And Pentland On 9th & 10th March 2010 25th February 2010: The Desert Uplands Committee and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing will be hosting two all-day Empowering Women Forums at Barcaldine and Pentland on the 9th and 10th March 2010. The Forums will focus on how to improve your own personal productivity and your business. Attendees will be able to listen to successful rural businesswomen tell their stories and hear how various rural enterprises have successfully met and dealt with a wide range of challenges. There'll also be sessions on goals and goal-setting; strategies for accepting and dealing with change; trade displays; as well as a chicken and champagne working breakfast and a great picnic lunch. Child minding will be available on request too, if needed. Tickets to either of the Forums are only $25 per head, and you can obtain a PDF flyer about the Forums by clicking here. You can reserve a seat and/or obtain more information by phoning the Desert Uplands Commitee on (07) 4651-1002 or by by emailing them

New QRWN Website Design Launched Today 7th February 2010: The QRWN website has taken on a slightly different look from today onwards. From now on - at the suggestion of members - we're putting our most recent news stories on our front page so you can see what's new at a glance the instant you visit our site. Our previous News section will still remain in the same place, and once stories move off our front page they'll "overflow" into this area. But if you've previously bookmarked our News page, you might want to change your bookmark to our front page URL (http://qrwn.org.au) if you want to get our latest news straight up.

Learn How To Become A Savvy Agricultural Policy Lobbyist On Wednesday 17th February 2010 3rd February 2010: Do you want to help shape and influence State and Federal Government policy (and even local government policy) that will affect the future of the land and our communities? Do you want to learn more about how Government policy is developed and improve your ability to influence it? If so, then the Condamine Alliance will be holding a special one day workshop for women on Wednesday 17th February 2010 that will be of great interest to you. The workshop is being held from 9:00am to 4:30pm at the Panorama Room in Picnic Point at 164 Tourist Road in Toowoomba, and its purpose is to teach rural women how government policy is shaped and influenced, and make them much more powererful lobbyists as a result. Janice Jiggens - an internationally recognised expert in agriculture, environment and gender issues who's worked for the United Nations, the European Economic Union and the World Bank - will be a special guest speaker. And the full-day workshop will cover all aspects of this often little-understood process. The workshop is free but an RSVP by 10th February is essential to help the organisers plan seating. You can make one by phoning the Condamine Alliance on (07) 4620-0112 or by emailing them. You can also obtain a two-page PDF flyer about the workshop (which includes the full workshop programme) by clicking here.