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Country Women's Association |
of New South Wales |
Social Issues |
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Secretary The Social Issues Committee (previously known as the Study and Investigation Committee) researches social issues and responds, usually through submissions to Parliamentary Enquiries, to potential legislation that could impact on women and families. In recent years, more and more of these enquiries have dealt with regional, rural and remote concerns. In the current year, we have worked on submissions to both the State and Federal Parliaments. Subjects covered, either in general or on only one or two aspects, include: Health, Taxation, Poverty, Telstra, including its sale, the availability of Broadband and the future of Payphones, Education, especially Open Learning and TAFE, Welfare, Transport, including the adequacy of aviation services in the Bush and the replacement of country trains by coaches, Banking, including services in country areas and deregulating ATMs, privatization of government utilities and services, Child Custody. We also attended the NSW Government's Alcohol Summit during the last week of August. Increasingly, we are being invited to follow up our submissions with appearances before Committees, to put our viewpoints in person and to respond to Members' questions. Round-table Forums are the most interesting forms of these, yielding stronger discussion and allowing for a real exchange of information and ideas. We meet 4 times a year, at Head Office, but do the vast majority of our work between meetings. Members of the 2006-2007 Committee are Patricia Shergis (Chairman) from Adaminaby; Joy Potts (Secretary) from Cessnock Evening;Karen Dusting, from Uralla; Jill Macaulay from Illabo; Dorothy Secomb from Nambucca Heads; Mary Donnelly, from Cootamundra Evening; Diane Edwards, from Sydney City; and Executive Representative, Margaret Brown from Cumnock. We work hard, brushing our brains constantly, but having much fun at the same time. |
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