8/9/2019 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
b u s t e r s
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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
e
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o
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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
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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.
Strengthening Rural Communit ies Page 3
n
a
t i o
n
a
l
o
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e
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
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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
Pag e 4 Strengthening Rural Communit ies
f e
a
t u
r e
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”.
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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.
p
r o
f
i l e
w o m e n in fa rm ing
Strengthening Rural Communit ies Page 5
" 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
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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
Pag e 6 Strengthening Rural Communit ies
b
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e h e l p i n ge l p i n g o u t
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.
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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
Strengthening Rural Communit ies Page 7
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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
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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