Canberra, here I come!

I’m off to Canberra today for the Australian Institute of Company Director’s Course as part of my 2007 Rural Women’s Award.

I’m not sure how I’ll handle Canberra and sitting inside for 10 days straight. If only I can smuggle a Kelpie under my desk, I’ll be right!

I know I’ll be craving having the soil under my feet, but it’ll be a great chance to network with other rural women from across the Nation.

Word’s out we have a black tie dinner at the end of the course where many of the government and departmental leaders will attend (maybe even Kevin 08).

I’ll be making sure our rural voices are heard loud and clear.

With threatened school closures in rural areas during drought times, we’ll be asking for some flexibility from our city-based leaders to allow us to develop new ways of farming in a new climate and a chance to re-build rural infrastructure which is key to our nation’s vibrancy.

(I’ll also be able to tell them some yarns about what it’s like here on the farm during the worst drought we’ve ever experienced! We’ve been carting water to some paddocks for a year now! Yesterday thirsty rats chewed through a water pipe under our house! It’s lucky we didn’t lose all our tank water! These sorts of daily stresses along with the stress of encountering a public service that doesn’t seem to understand has pushed many of us to breaking point.)

I’m sure Canberra will be just the ticket the rural women need to getting some positive change happening in rural areas!