CWA’s rising challenge

A motion to the meeting put forward by the Sydney City branch that would have made it possible for a city dweller to occupy the post of NSW state president drew ire from many women who had made a long trek from disparate parts of the state to be there. The motion aimed to re-word the definition of who is able to contest the presidency from a woman “living or have lived in rural or regional areas” to “have demonstrated interest and experience in rural and regional issues”.

That simple change of definition would have opened the presidency to any member of any of the CWA’s NSW branches, even if they had never lived beyond metropolitan boundaries. The Sydneysiders argued in a preamble to the motion that the position of president should be one that represents all members and the abilities of the president was in no way limited by where they lived.

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Elizabeth Nash, the Sydney City branch president said metro members were a growing source of membership and fundraising capability. The Sydney City branch is the state’s largest, boasting 91 members

Ms Nash the premise “a member not living in a rural area cannot understand” issues facing country women was wrong. She said she felt it was inequitable that more than 20 per cent of the membership was not eligible to be president.

Speaking against the motion Jenny Chobdzynski, of the Riverina branch, said the manner in which Ms Nash described the presidency “reads like a corporate job advertisement, and we are not a corporation”.

"How does a person from the city understand the isolation, a man who has just shot his dog, savage bushfires, 12 years of drought, or five men committing suicide in a small community in a month?” she asked, near tears and shaking like a leaf.

“Unless you’ve walked the walk you can’t talk the talk,” she said. Earlier in the day Deputy Premier and Nationals leader John Barilaro and his parliamentary secretary Bronnie Taylor paid tribute to the strength of the lobby group the CWA is.

“I am a complete convert to the CWA,” said Ms Taylor, who is a member of the association’s Nimmitabel chapter, “you keep us honest and motivate us”.

Mr Barilaro said: “We talk about rural and regional Australia, but the faces here today are the faces of rural and regional Australia.”

“And the CWA provides a voice for regional Australia.”

He said the CWA had acted as a partner to government, making sure investment went to the right places, singling out the association’s campaign targeting mobile phone blackspots as a prime example of its clout.

But is the fact that the CWA is so powerful the reason its heartland base seemed threatened on Monday afternoon?

NSW State President Annette Turner played the situation down, but insisted the nature of living in the bush needed to be understood intrinsically by the president.

“The problems of the bush are large and diverse, for instance when I hear the word ‘drought’ I see sheep dying by a waterhole and smell the death,” she said.

“This (issue) comes up all the time, but the fact the members drive the agenda keeps it rooted in reality.”

The motion was voted down 156 delegates in favour, 329 against.

Nonetheless this is not an issue that is going away, Ms Nash believes the CWA’s Phillip Group will continue to pursue reform because feelings in the six-branch Sydney area are strong.

She did not discount a new motion next year.