May 2003 Rural Women Magazine, New Zealand

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Strengthening Rural Communit ies Page 1

in this issue...

• Editorial and recent submissions

• The Future’s Bright

• Women in Farming

• Branch Line

• Tackling Telecom in Tarana ki

O F F I C I A L J O U RN A L O F R U RA L W O M E N N E W Z EA L A N D • I S SU E N o . 2 , M A Y 2 0 0 3

The small community of Tarras, near Wanaka in CentralOtago, now has a waste Recycling Centre thanks to the local

branch of Rural Women New Zealand.

The group spearheaded the project which also involved the

local school and Wastebusters, a community owned

organization based in Alexandra which processes the recycled

waste. Wastebus ters Genera l Manager, Andrew Jackson,

says that the Tarras centre would still be a depot waiting to

happen if Rural Women New Zealand hadn’t become actively

involved. The group negotiated with a local transport company

to collect the full bags of recycling and transport them to

Cromwell.

The Tarras Recycling Centre is based at the local primary

school, where a rack of four bags is available to deposit a

variety of recyclable materials, including paper, cans and

plastics. The school students have been visited by a ResourceRecycling Officer a nd have a lso visited a recycling depot to

see what hap pens to the waste. They are now helping to

educate their families about how to recycle.

Education is vital to the success of the Centre says Tarras

Branch member, Spin Lucas. The branch is also publishing

a monthly article on recycling in the local ‘Tarras Talk’

newsletter and use of the centre is increasing.

Tarra s is the latest depot to open up in the district. Others

are already in existence in Roxburgh, Omakau, Ranfurly

and Oturehua. Once the recycled items have been delivered

to Wastebusters, volunteers help to sort them so they can

be processed. It is a real community effort - a nd it goes to

show that recycling schemes can work outside of large

urban a reas.

w a s t e

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Recently our Regional

Conferences have

t a k e n p l a c e

t h r o u g h o u t N e w

Zealand.

Much though t fu l

planning has goneinto arranging these

C o n f e r e n c e

P r o g r a m m e s t o

ensure a t t endees

have an opportunity

to become better informed on current issues, to

acquire new skills, to gather ideas, make new friends

and generally enjoy each others company.

Congratulations to a ll involved in these successful

occasions.

During February Council Meeting Councillors revised

our Strategic Plan and developed a vision of how

we see our organization continuing to work effectively into

the future.

We must be flexible enough to be able to respond to the

changing needs of our communities while never losing sight

of our traditional values. We plan to go on being recognized

as an organisation valued for our ability to represent the

interests of rural families, to develop leadership skills amongst

our women and to be proactive in our communities.

It is important we continually look for ways to establishpartnerships which will allow us to bring stimulating events

and activities to communities.

Significant areas are currently feeling the affects of a prolonged

period without rain a nd we need to be aware of how this is

impacting on rura l families. Best advice suggests the key to

dealing with serious drought conditions is making early farm

mana gement decisions. We can assist by bringing specialist

information to communities.

Arranging meetings and seminars where families can a ccess

good informat ion to enable them to reach realistic decisions

is a good way for us to offer practical support.

“Women Bloom Where they are Planted’’ is the theme for

our National Conference in Whangarei from 19—22 May.

The Conference will be preceded by a Workshop on the

Resource Management Act. This provides a great cha nce for

members to get a better understanding of what the RMA is

designed to achieve.

The Conference Programme offers a good balance of high

profile speakers and workshops under the title of Enterprising

Rura l Women. There will be a panel discuss ion on land

access issues, time for business and opportunities forentertainment and fun.

The Planning Committee has worked tirelessly to ensure all

our needs are provided for and I look forward to meeting

many members there.

by Ellen Ramsay, National President

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Pag e 2 Strengthening Rural Communit ies

s u b m i s s i o n s

Rural Women New Zealand has recently made

submissions on :

• Biosecurity Council’s Draft Biosecur ity Strategy for

New Zealand, “Guarding Pacific’s Triple Star”

• Varroa Planning Group’s Discussion Document “Pest

Management Strategy for Varroa Bee Mite (Varroa

destructor )”

re c e n t i ssu e s

We have written letters expressing concern over the

following issues:

• School Fees and Donations, to Minister of Education,

14 March.

This letter outlined the findings of our recent survey on this

topic, and our concerns about some schools penalisingstudents whose parents had not paid school donations.

The Minister replied saying that the results of the survey

were interesting and had been noted, and that the Ministry

of Education frequently reminded schools about their

requirements under the Education Act. It also said that

parents can access information about school fees and

donations on the Ministry website at www.minedu.govt.nz

p u b l i c i t y

m e d i a i nt e r v i e w s

• Radio 4XO - Various issues, including National Pest

Management Strategy, Biosecurity (Februa ry)

• Radio 4X0 - PHOs, Cancer Control Strategy (Februa ry)

• Radio 4X0 - the drought, Regional Conferences (March)

• No.8 Wired Profile, 27 April

m e d i a r e l e a s e s a n d a r t i c le s

• Parliamentary Commissioner for Biotechnology required,

Southern Rural Life, January

• Recruitment and Retention of GPs, Southern Rural Life,

February

• Access Homehealth, South Island High Country Herald,

February

• Wellington Experience, South Island High Country

Herald, March

• Land Care Trust, Southern Rural Life, March.

u p d a t e s• National President, Ellen Ramsay, has been appointed

to the Standa rds New Zealand Council. This is a 3

year ministerial appointment



Welcome to my first

colu mn . I’ll be

writing a column for

each edition of the

magazine from now

on, so that I can keep

you up to date with

what’s happening atNational Office.

As you’ll see from

the article later in this

edition, I’ve recently

been spending a lot of my time on strategic issues.

I’ve done this for two primary reasons. The first

is that I’m a firm believer that organisations, just

like people, achieve more if they know what they

are trying to accomplish.

it is apparent to me that Rural Women New Zealand

is at a crossroads, and that making a decision about

the type of organisation that we want to be as we

move forward is necessary if we are to have an

exciting future. In the short time tha t I’ve been here

we’ve made significant progress, having already

developed a clear picture of what the organisation

is trying to be in the future (the vision) and of the

way that we will go about achieving that vision (the

values). I am now atten ding all of the regiona l

conferences so tha t I can tell members more about

what the vision and values are, how they were

developed and what they will mean for the organisation aswe move into the future. So far the feedback from members

has been overwhelmingly positive, and it is clear that there is

broad support for the vision and values that National Council

has developed.

One of the quest ions that members often ask is how we can

achieve the ambitious targets that we have set ourselves in

our vision statement . To me, tha t is where good quality

plann ing comes in. I have no doubt that our vision is

achievable, and I am currently working on completing an

implementation plan that will guide our activities as we work

towards achieving our vision. This plan will be presented tothe National Conference in May, and I’ll provide a summa ry

of it in the next edition of this magazine.

As we start to undertake the activities that are described in

the implementat ion plan, it’s going to be important to me to

make sure that members have access to information about

what we’re doing, why we’re doing it and how successful we

are being. To enable us to do this I’ll be ensuring tha t we

make better use of our magazine, our web site (the address

for which is www.rura lwomen.org) and e- mail. As I make

changes to the way tha t we use these tools I’ll keep you up-

to-date through this column.

I believe tha t now is an exciting time to be a member of Rural

Women New Zealand, and I look forward to providing you

with regular updates of our progress towards meeting the

objectives that we have set ourselves in our vision.


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submissions

Biosecurity Council’s Draft Biosecurity Strategy for New

Zealand, “Guarding Pacific’s Triple Star”

This was a high-level document intended to encourage

debate and eventual agreement on an overall vision and

goals for a biosecurity strategy.

In our submission we argued that New Zealand’s biosecurity

risks will be most effectively managed if:• There is a comprehensive current risk profile for New

Zealand;

• There is one agency that has primary responsibility for

the ma nagement of New Zealand’s biosecurity stra tegy

and there is a well coordinated working relationship

between all agencies that have a role in biosecurity;

• The basis for funding the strategy has been broadly agreed

by all stakeholders;

• There is a consistent and transparent approach to identifying

biosecurity risks and determining appropriate action to

be taken in response to those risks. This approach should

enable stakeholder input and lead to decisions based on

scientific information;

• The public is well informed of the role that they should

take in assisting to ensure New Zealand’s biosecurity; and

• The penalties provided for breaching New Zealand’s

biosecurity reflect the risk that such breaches pose to our

economy and way of life.

Varroa Planning Group’s Discussion Document “Pest

Management Strategy for Varroa Bee Mite (Varroa

destructor)”

This document examined the most appropriate way in which

to minimise the spread of varroa within New Zealand. The

major points from our submission were:

• The economic and lifestyle impacts of varroa, coupled

with the ease with which it can spread, necessitates the

taking of decisive action to halt its spread and minimise

its impact. This makes a nationa l pest mana gement

strategy the most appropriate mechanism for the long-

term management of varroa.

• Any strategy to counter varroa within New Zealand should

aim to delay the incursion of varroa into areas where it is

not currently present, and reduce the impact of varroa in

areas where it is established. We consequently agreedthat the primary objective of the proposed strategy should

be to maintain South Island freedom from varroa, and that

another objective should be to slow the spread of varroa

within the North Island for as long as practicable.

• A successful varroa management strategy requires education

of those parties whose cooperation is most critical to the

success of the strategy, movement controls and monitoring

of sufficient sensitivity to enable eradication should an

incursion be detected.

•The management agency for the proposed strategy should

be comprised of representatives of the major groups that

will benefit from the strategy. The contribution made by

each group to funding the strategy should be commensurate

with the degree of benefit the group will derive from the

strategy.

by Jackie Russell-Green, Executive Officer



The first stage of developing the plan involved

examining the organisation’s pa st and p resent to

determine how well positioned we are for the future

and the development of a vis ion for the

organisation’s future and of values that would guide

our behaviour as we move towards achieving thatvision.

The visionNational Council decided that the vision of Rural

Women New Zealand as we move into the future

will be:

Strengthening rural communities by:

• Being recognised as the voice of rural New Zealand

families and communities;

• Working to develop rura l New Zealand

communities; and

• Being a valuable business partner for rural people.

The valuesNational Council decided that we will be most able to move

towards achieving our vision if we ensure that Rural Women

New Zealand is forward thinking, focused, flexible,

professional and enabling.

Being forward thinking means that we will ensure that

our activities, programmes and

internal s tructures, plans and

policies are designed to ensure theachievement of our vision and that

they are relevant for today and the

future.

W h e r e a n y a s p e c t o f o u r

organisation no longer helps us to

meet the needs of today’s and

tomorrow’s rural families and

communities we will change it.

Being focused means that we will

identify the core issues for our

organisation as it seeks to achieve

its vision and focus on a ddressing

those.

Being flexible means that we will

approach the work tha t we

undertake to achieve our vision

without preconceptions about the most effective way to

proceed.

We will be creative, innovative and proactive in our

development of activities, programmes and internal structures,

plans a nd policies and we will be prepa red to try new ideas

and adopt new approaches.

Being professiona l means that we will ensure that all


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interactions within the organisation and with external parties

reflect best practice, build our credibility and assist us to

achieve our vision.

We will design programmes that are recognised for their

excellence. We will employ the bes t staff and provide them

with the resources necessary to achieve our vision.

Being enabling means that we will ensure that the

programmes we provide give pa rticipan ts the information

and assistance they need to achieve

the i r pe rsona l and bus ines s

objectives.

ImplementationExecutive Officer Jackie Russell-

Green and National President Ellen

Ramsay have presented the vision

and values to members at the 2003

Wellington Experience and at the

regional conferences throughout

New Zealand.

values have been very well received,

with members keen to see us

undertaking the work necessary to

achieve our vision. From here, the

Executive Officer will develop an

i m p l e m e n t a t i o n p l a n f o r

consideration a t the next National

Council meeting. The vision and

values will form the basis of this

implementation plan, which will

outline the activities that we need to u ndertake to achieve

our objectives.

If approved, the plan will be presented at the NationalConference in May.

More deta iled information on the development of the vision

and values is available on the web site (www.ruralwomen.org)

or by contacting National Office.

the future ’s br igh t

The National

Council and

Executive Officer

have recently

started

developing Rural

Women New

Zealand’s

strategic plan.

“We will be crea tive,

innovative and proactive in

our development of

activities, programmes and

interna l structures, plans

and policies and we will be

prepa red to try new idea s

a nd a dopt new

approaches”.



The demonstration by national

dog triallist, Allen Nisbet of

Kaikohe, was very well

received and included a

handout on dog training and

management

About 35 enthusiastic women farmers participated in

Northland's first Rural Women New Zealand Women In

Farming discussion group held recently near Kaikohe.

The inaugural meeting near Kaikohe featured a workshop

and demonstration by one of the country's leading dog triallists,

Allen Nisbet of Kaikohe. The women a lso

discussed the ongoing programme, formed a

management committee and set a date for the

next meeting.

At the second WIF meeting in April, Trisha

Fisk, an agricultural journalist, published

author of several books and experienced farmer

lead an open discussion forum, Okaihau farmer

and businesswomen Pixie Rintoul advised onfarm accounting and GST and the group

discussed calf rearing.

Rural Women New Zealand National

Councillor, Sherrill Dackers, says the first

meeting was a great success and everyone was enthu siastic

and keen to get going.

"We're delighted with the response. It's very clear that Rural

Women New Zealand is filling a gap for women farmers.

There are many women in the region who are eager to learn

a lot more about a range of farming-related subjects."

She says the organisation now wants to hea r from women in

the wider area that includes Maun gakaramea and

Maungaturoto so tha t a mid

western group can be formed later in the year.

"We already know of some interestedwomen in this area, but we need more

to make a new group viable. The

meetings a re held on various farms so,

while women will have to travel to some

meetings, others could be on their own

farm or close by."

The objectives of the Women In Farming groups are to

increase the profitability and sustainability of farms and help

boost the confidence and a bilities of women farmers so they

can contribute more fully to their farming business and the

agricultural industry.

Rural Women New Zealand has been a driving

force in the recent estab lishment of groups

in Taihape, Dannevirke, Masterton, Blenheim,

South Canterbury and Gore after the concept

was approved by the Sustainable Farming

Fund. Fund ing ha s also come from

AgResearch, WoolPro, Meat New Zealand

and other industry groups.

For further deta ils about th e meetings or toregister your interest in the new group yet

to be established, please contact Shelley

Deeming (contact deta ils below).

If you are interested in joining other groups

around the country check the Rural Women New Zealand

website (www.ruralwomen.org) for details or phone National

Office.

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w o m e n in fa rm ing


" W e ' r e

d e l i g h t e d

w i t h t he

r e s p o n s e ”

N or th la nd co nt a c t s:Sherrill Dackers Shelley Deeming

Regional Councilor Regiona l Development Officer

Ph 09 437 0572 Ph 09 432 3779

GRSMD@xtra .co.nz [email protected]

By Rae Newman

o ff the g ro und

in northla nd



Welcome to New Friends

Tatuanui: Ngaire Gorkin

Elaine Lovatt

Ratanui: Elizabeth Miller

Ass ociate Member: Alison Walsh

Tokaora-Inaha: Helen Carrodus

Julie Williamson

Waipapa-KeriKeri: Ellen Bosey

Dunedin: Margaret Godfrey

Rotomanu: Adrienne Rues ink

Yvonne Gibson

Roxburgh: Jay Chapman

East Taieri: Isobel Sime

Gail Heenan

Phyllis Crossan

Betty Thompson

Albury: Jane Baird

Owaka: Lynelle Martin

Oparure: Jean Small

Yaldhurst: Julie SorrellNeroli Smith

Debbie Graha m

Nicky Patten-Oakley

Fa rewell to Old Friends

Upper Hutt: Olive Jillett

Duntroon: Vera Tuma ru

Aoroa: Aileen Taylor*

East Taieri: May Jury *

Maheno: Phyllis McGowan

Oamaru: Doreen DillonGrace Godsall

(National Life Member)

Tahuna: Jean Hughes*

Oropi: Jess ie Robinson

Rona Smith

Tirau: Olive Jordan

Lauder-Becks: Flo Murphy

Ratanui: Elizabeth Miller

Ahiahi: Jean McKnight

Oparure: Betty Price

Nth Canterbury Provincial: Edna George*

Tumahu: Hazel Honeyfield

Roxburgh: Peg Dawson

Yaldhurst: Myrtle Wright

* Life Member

May They Rest in Peace

Honours Boa rd

Branch Life Membership:

Kakahu: Margaret Chapman

Brenda Lyon

Kelso: Isobel Calder

Valmai Kirk

Alison Duff


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Karamea Branch members with the Air Vacuum Mattress that

they donated to their local branch of St John’s Ambulance. The

mattress is used instead of a stretcher and is ideal for transporting

patients with broken bones as they do not have to be transferred

from stretcher to trolley when they reach hospital.

Taking Action...• ACWW Projects Committee Chair, Val Tarra nt, wa s the

guest speaker at a recent gathering of Rural Women New

Zealand members in the Rangitikei District. Val spoke

about her work for ACWW and outlined how groups could

assist with the projects ACWW run in various countries

around the world. A South Island Provincial is funding an

HIV Awareness programme in Cameroon, Region 6 members

have funded a sunflower oil project in Kenya and Manawatu

members have funded a project in India which is assisting

women to make flower garlands for sale outside their

temples. All the projects focus on helping women in

developing countries through income-generating activities.

• Everyone told them they should do it again – so they did.

Following the success of last year’s inaugural Women’s

Surfcasting Competition, Aoroa Branch recently organised

anoth er one. This year there were 52 entrants (16 more

than the previous year) and wonderful weather helped to

make it an extremely success ful event. Organiser, Anne

Walker, said there was a large crowd of supporters and

friends and a real party atmosphere. The top prize for

largest fish was won by Donna Dreadon, who managed to

catch a 1.71 kg kahawa i. Local businesses supported the

event by providing prizes - including about 40 spot prizes.

• Region Five members took their Regional Link Meeting to

Gisborne at the end of last year, rather than expecting

Gisborne to come to them. A bus collected members from

around the Bay of Plenty area and they travelled to Gisborne

where they stayed at Waikanae Beach. As well as giving

members from around the region a chance to get together,

a dinner meeting also gave National Councilor, Tini Wetting,

and RDO, Dallas Munro, the chance to outline the

advantages of belonging to Rural Women New Zealand to

the non-members present.



Mosgiel West School

50th Jubilee

24 - 26 OctoberContact:

74 Argyle St, Mosgiel

Ph: 03 489 6252

Fax: 03 489 6352Email: [email protected]

South Ta ra na ki Provinc ia l

70th Birthda y

Luncheon Celebrations

9 July 2003

Past members welcome.

Contact: Alison Livingstone

Allen Road, RD 12, Hawera


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• The Top of the South (Region 3) Conference held in

Westport recently has resulted in action being taken on

two local issues. A letter has been s ent to Transit NZ

about the delay in modifying or replacing the on e-way

Awatere Bridge on SH1. The bridge is 100 years old an d

the one- way system frequently causes delays, which is

frustrating for locals as well as the increas ing volume of

heavy, commercial and tourist traffic heading to the

Wellington- Picton ferry. The Conference also expressed

concern about the change to sports funding which hasseen the rural travel componen t withdrawn . The new

Sports Funding body which has replaced the Hillary

Commission no longer funds for travel. A letter has been

written to Minister of Sports and Recreation, Trevor Mallard,

bringing to his attention the inequitable situation this has

created for rura l families a nd commu nities.

• Congratulations to:

- May Couts, from Cromwell Branch, ha s been awarded

Branch Life Membership for an impressive 73 years of

service. May joined the then WDFU in 1930 as a junior

member of Palmerston (Otago) Branch. Now in retirement

in Cromwell she continues to be an active member in her

branch. We suspect May is our longest serving member.

- Norma Wilton, from Tatuanui Branch, who was runner-

up in the 65+ Ladies Singles, and also won the 65+

Doubles and Combined Doubles, at the National Veteran

Tennis Tournament in Taura nga

AC W W Ne w sThe beginning of this year has been tinged with sadness

and frustration for many of our member Societies -

droughts and bushfires in Australia, political unrest

in some of our Pacific Islands, particularly in Papua

New Guinea and the Solomon Islands, and the outbreak

of war in Iraq.

I appreciate being kept informed of aid that is given

to any of the Pacific Islands. It makes it eas ier for me

when I have requests for ideas, because I can then

channel help to those areas tha t have missed out. It

is easier to send small parcel goods, such as sewing

aids or obsolete spectacles, to Pacific Islands rather

than trying to put together large packages that are

costly to ma il.

ACWW Awareness Day is 29 April and we encourage

all branches to organize an interview with a local

newspaper by the end of April. Highlight an aspect

of ACWW that is exciting and interes ting, using The

Countrywoman or ACWW Project News as resource

material if necessar y. Please send any published

articles to me as I intend collating as many printed

articles as possible for a South Pacific Area display in

Hobart 2004.

Jeanette Tarbotton, South Pacific Area President

Awards for Women Available:

• Second-chance education and training awards (including

the Rita King Award). Applications close 31 May 2003

• The JADE Award, for women undertaking 2nd-chanceeducation or training in the field of Information Technology.

Applications close 31 August 2003.

• Research awards, including the SROW Award and the Ria

McBride/ New Horizons Award . Applications close 31

August.

• Ria McBride Public Service Management Award - open

to women employed in the Public Service who are s tudying,

or wish to s tudy for a qualification that will ass ist in their

promotion to senior management. Applications close on

31 July 2003.

Application forms a re available on the New Horizons for

Women Trust website at www.Rorohiko.net.nz / Horizons or

from Rural Women New Zealand National Office.

Ne w Hor izonsfo r Women Trust



Official Journal of Rural Women New Zealand • PO Box 12021, Wellington • Te l 04 473 5524 • Fax 04 472 8946

Ema il rura lwome n@cle a r.ne t.nz • www.ruralwomen.org • ISSN no 1171- 4425

Editor Tess Ca sey, Hea d Office , PO Box 12021 Wellington • Printe r: Prec ise Print, Pa rap a raumu

ta c k l ing te le c o m in ta ra na k i

Taranaki’s Rural Women held a public meet ing with Telecom

recently to talk abou t the region’s five toll-calling area s and

dodgy internet services in some rural areas.

It was organised jointly by the three provincials to tackle

Telecom directly and held at Stratford on Februa ry 13, with

about 60 people attending, including Rural Women New

Zealand members, members of the public, Federated Farmers

representa tives, Stratford District’s Mayor a nd the media.

As an attempt to get immediate toll-free dialing for Taranaki,

the meet ing failed, but as a chance to talk to Telecom about

the idea, a nd to learn about technological developments in

our a rea, it was a great success. Telecom was represented

by Taranaki Business Manager Dai Jeremiah, National Rural

Affairs Manager Seager Mason, and Rose Carter fromconsultancy company, Baycity.

Over the years, there have been unsuccessful attempts by

various groups and individuals to persuade Telecom to remove

the toll dialing areas in Taranaki. Telecom has always cited

the costs of maintaining services to rura l areas and the historic

Kiwishare agreement as reasons for ma intaining the obscure

and obsolete toll-calling areas.

Over the years business bases have changed, particularly

with the centra lisation of many businesses, so rural dwellers

This year’s Wellington Experience was

at tended by a record number of

par ticipants from around New Zealand.

Twenty-one Rura l Women New Zealand

members who ho ld pos i t ions o f

responsibility in their local groups, visitedthe Capital to see how the organisation

works at a national level.

The intensive, two-day leadership training

programme involves visits to places such

as Parliament and opportunities to meet

with those whom the organisation works

with in Wellington. In addition, there are

workshop style sessions on internal

issues, such as communications, strategic

direction and regional development.

t h e w e l l i n g t o n e x p e r i e n c e

are forced to make toll calls to main centres just to run their

farms and families.

It was established at the meeting that there is no technologicalhindrance to going toll-free, i t’s a revenue issue.

However, there is a little hope in that Taranaki as a region

has invested heavily in Telecom with its Broadband fast

internet deal. Several other regions have opted to buy their

fast internet services through Telecom’s competition, a fact

the company is well aware of and in fact this "remote" region

has had the fastest uptake of the new technology of anywhere,

which surprised them. Outsiders apparently view our region

as well off the beaten track and a long way from anywhere.

The three visitors talked about the new developments in

internet products which are now available, at a cost, to 85%

of Taranaki residents - those who live within 5- 7 kilometres

of a Telecom exchange. Outside of that range, people are

classed as "remote" and will have to wait for the wireless

network, which will then cover 98% of Telecom customers.

As a follow-up to the meeting, Rural Women New Zealand

members are keeping up the pressure. South Taranaki

provincial has asked members to write to Telecom CEO

Theresa Gattung, as she is the person with the final say.

Catherine Bielawski

Documents

May 2003 Rural Women Magazine, New Zealand