Barbara Grey is an irrigated cotton farmer from Mungindi, in SW Qld, and the 2011 Rural Women’s Award Winner for Qld, and National Runner-up. The report outlines the results of the Rural Women’s Award project developed and delivered by Barbara.

The Report is of relevance to those organisations who have a vested interest in the capacity building of regional, rural and remote women, and in particular with regard to improving their understanding of, and interaction with, the political system.

People in regional, rural and remote areas often feel disconnected from and disconcerted with, those in Canberra who make the decisions that affect our livelihood and quality of life. The pilot educational work-shop, ‘Women Affecting Change’ (WAC), was developed to target women of regional/rural Australia who are in a position to affect change in their community or industry. The overall aim of WAC was to strengthen and develop the capacity of these women to influence and affect change, through an increased understanding of the political system and other national processes. The project embraced participants from across Australia, from each state and territory, and from a diverse cross-section of industries and communities. For example, agriculture, health, education, sport, small business, and not-for-profit

The key objectives:

o Raise awareness of the political system

o Developing their knowledge of how to engage media, policy makers, government agencies, and

politicians

o Networking women who are developing leadership roles in rural, remote and regional Australia o Developing their capacity to articulate their objectives and understand the barriers to change The project involved development and implementation of the pilot educational workshop, delivered in Canberra during sitting week, October 2011.

Workshop results exceeded expectations. The high calibre and diverse cross-section of women participants was impressive, and the women eagerly seized the opportunity to connect, contribute, network, and share their community/industry stories. Participants indicated they hoped WAC would not be a one-off event, and expressed the need for the provision of similar workshops on a regular, on-going basis.

The WAC workshop delivered a clear message, that is, rural/regional/remote residents have much to gain from being politically astute, to being well-informed about the process, and to thereby engage constructively and proactively in the political debate. Ongoing support for the delivery of educational workshops that provide an increased understanding of the political system and associated agents, for regional, rural and remote women from across Australia, during parliament’s sitting week in Canberra is highly recommended.