Speech - Rural Woman of the Year

Mr CROOK (O'Connor) (13:49): I take this opportunity to congratulate Caroline Robinson on being named the Rural Woman of the Year.

The Rural Woman of the Year award recognises women who have made an exceptional contribution towards rural Australia, and Ms Robinson has certainly done this. Caroline hails from the Wheatbelt community of Woolocutty in my electorate of O'Connor and is the driving force behind the Wheatbelt Business Network.

This excellent initiative is designed to promote local produce and regional tourism. It provides networking, training and education opportunities for Wheatbelt residents. Already, the Wheatbelt Business Network has the support of five local governments and I expect this will only grow over the next year as word spreads of its success.

The network has provided essential support for regional businesses and communities who have been doing it tough through a very dry season. Following the award ceremony, I had the opportunity to chat with Caroline, and I was very impressed with her plans to further develop the network with a buy-local campaign.

Outside her involvement with the network, Caroline is a wheat and sheep farmer. She also runs a ballet class, teaching about 130 students across three local government areas.

Caroline Robinson is a wonderful ambassador for rural women across Australia. I wish her the best in her efforts to promote regional Australia.