Council Membership

The members of the Council represent each state and the Northern Territory. Members were chosen on the basis of their:

• living and working in regional Australia;
• having expertise on key issues facing regional rural and remote communities;
• being closely connected with a range of community groups; and
• having the personal qualities to contribute effectively to problem solving.

The members of Council are:

	Anne Dunn, Chair - South Australia Extensive experience in regional development, education, employment and social issues. Appointments include: Interim Chair and Deputy Chair, Australia Council; Chair, South Australian Training and Skills Commission; Director, Australian Rural Leadership Foundation and Chair of the Local Government Cultural Development Task Force.
	Tracey Brand - Northern Territory Senior Executive Officer, Tangentyere Council; Deputy Chair, Northern Territory Area Consultative Committee. Tangentyere Council provides Indigenous housing, social and municipal services in Alice Springs and remote communities in Central Australia. She also sits on a number of Northern Territory government and community boards and holds a degree in Business Management and a Masters Degree in Aboriginal Administration.
	Amabel Fulton - Tasmania Chief Executive Officer of Rural Development Services, an agri-food consulting and training business based in Hobart, Tasmania. Interested in understanding the people and organisational aspects of the agri-food sector, and in working with those people and organisations to foster sustainable industry development throughout regional Australia.
	Alexandra Gartmann - Victoria CEO of the Birchip Cropping Group, in the Wimmera and Mallee region of Victoria. She was the 2005 national winner of the Equity Trustees Not For Profit CEO Award for Significant Innovation. Her experience and interests are in rural communities, environmental management and agricultural systems.
	Jodie Goldsworthy - New South Wales Founder and Director of Beechworth Honey, Australias largest independently owned specialist honey company. In 1999 she was awarded the Rabobank Agribusiness Awards for Excellence; the Supply Chain Management Award sponsored by the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and Telstra Young Business Woman for NSW. Jodie jointly manages an irrigation property in the Riverina.
	Sabina Knight - Northern Territory Remote area nurse and senior lecturer in Remote Health Practice. Past president of the Council of Remote Area Nurses of Australia (CRANA) and the National Rural Health Alliance (NRHA). Sabrina has a farming pastoral and Australian Stockhorse background with a passionate interest in remote and rural issues.
	Marie Lally AM - South Australia Farmer and also involved with the County Womens Association for 40 years, 3 of those as National President. She manages the marketing and accounting for her familys farm business enterprise on the Eyre Peninsula, which grows wheat, barley canola and breeds merino sheep and fat lambs.
	Professor Ingrid Moses - ACT Chancellor of the University of Canberra. Professor Moses was Vice-Chancellor of the University of New England, Australias oldest regional university from 1997-2006. She was born and educated in Germany, and at the University of Queensland and was awarded a Centenary Medal for her contribution to rural education.
	Donna Nelson - Queensland Cooloola Shire Councillor. She is also a qualified solicitor, member of the Queensland Local Government Associations Executive, Deputy Chair of the Wide Bay Burnett Area Consultative Committee and Chair of the Cooloola Regional Development Bureau.
	Mary Nenke - Western Australia Director and Manager of Cambinata Yabbies, (family business). Mother of six, she, is passionate about a sustainable economic, social and environmental future for rural and remote families. She serves on numerous rural focused boards and committees and won the Inaugural RIRDC Western Australian Rural Womens Award in 2000.
	Emma Robinson - North Queensland Partners a family beef enterprise and consults in environmental scanning, foresight and strategy. She previously worked with Queensland Department of Primary Industries in Corporate Performance. She has a Masters Degree of Science (Strategic Foresight) and is also a graduate in Rural Management, the Australian Rural Leadership Program and the Australian Institute of Company Directors. She is also a past Director of AgForce Cattle.
	Robbie Sefton - New South Wales Director, Robbie Sefton PR a rural based national communication consultancy that specialises in developing public relations and marketing campaigns for large corporate and government organisations that need to reach rural, regional and remote Australia. She also co-owns and operates a farming and grazing property at Coonabarabran in North-West NSW.

Introduction

The REGIONAL WOMENS ADVISORY COUNCIL was established in 1999 by the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Transport and Regional Services to provide women's perspectives on issues that affect communities in regional, rural and remote Australia.

The first and second Council (appointed in September 2002) focused on building stronger regional communities led informed debate, which influenced decision-making and provided advice to the Australian Government in key areas of interest to regional Australia.

The third Council was appointed in June 2006 and its objective is to support the development and maintenance of resilient, vibrant and sustainable communities - harnessing the potential of young women leaders and Indigenous women leaders.

To this end it will work for:

• Inclusive leadership;
• Growing businesses; and
• Connected communities

Council members make use of their contacts and networks to provide feedback to the Minister and other relevant Australian Government ministers. Council may commission research and may also invite members of other representative bodies, departmental representatives, and members of the community to provide briefi ngs, or to participate in their meetings. Council will maintain alliances with other womens councils and advisory groups nationally.

Council members may also individually or collectively participate in Australian Government initiatives, such as national or regional forums, at the invitation of the Minister.