Parliamentary Secretary to the Deputy Premier Bronnie Taylor, left, Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, CWA NSW President Annette Turner, CWA NSW Chief Executive Danica Leys and Deputy Premier John Barilaro today at the opening session of the conference.
Monday, 30 April 2018
$13,000 grant to ensure the 96th CWA Conference is the best yet
NORTHERN Tablelands MP Adam Marshall has today welcomed around 800 delegates from Australia’s most active regional lobby group, the Country Women’s Association (CWA) of NSW, to Armidale for their 96th Annual Conference and General Meeting.
This year the conference has been bolstered with $13,000 in funding from the NSW Government as part of the Regional Conferencing Development Grants Program, designed to bring more conferences and business events out to rural and regional NSW.
“The CWA is much more than just the largest woman’s organisation in Australia – these days the CWA is one of Australia’s key lobbying groups that fights to keep regional issues at the forefront of the political debate and I’m pleased that Armidale is playing host to this important conference,” Mr Marshall said.
“I’m also happy to announce that the NSW Government has contributed $13,000 to help with the expenses of having the conference here in Armidale as part of our push to get more large scale conferences like the CWA NSW’s Annual Conference out here in the regions.
“The $13,000 meant that the CWA NSW has been able to expand their Conference offering this year, including an innovative ‘Open House’ event at the Town Hall where the best the region has to offer will be on display to delegates.
“Around 800 delegates and visitors will be in attendance just for the conference itself with many more rolling into town to see the Committee displays and Workshops. This is a major boost for the Armidale economy and the business community is looking forward to welcoming all the visitors to town.
“As I was walking down Beardy Street this week I noticed local store ‘Swish’ had a CWA display in their front window which I think reflects just how excited the town is about the CWA coming to town.
“Staging events such as this conference is a great way to not only boost overnight visitation but encourage more visitors to experience everything that’s on offer in Armidale.”
The CWA has a close association with the Northern Tablelands, with the legendary Grace Munro of Bingara the first President of the NSW division after organising the formative conference for the association at the 1922 Royal Easter Show in Sydney.
More than 20 motions will be debated at the conference on a range of topics including plastic bag use, brucellosis in sheep and Community Legal Centres.
Country Women’s Association NSW CEO Danica Leys said the Conference was a reflection of the CWA’s commitment to regional Australia and regional Conferencing.
“The CWA NSW is committed to holding our events in regional NSW which we rotate throughout the State. I’m excited that we are in beautiful Armidale for this year’s event and we’ve been encouraging our delegates to get out and experience everything the region has to offer,” Ms Leys said.
“We support the NSW Government’s push to expand Conferencing in the regions – it’s a much needed initiative and its fantastic that is has been recognised and prioritised. The us at the CWA the extra funding has meant we can invest more in media to showcase not just what we do, but the region too.
“The Town Hall “Open House” is particularly exciting for us – visitors can see and buy local produce from around the region, as well as learn more about the CWA.”