The recipients of the 2022 AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award were announced in a gala dinner event held at Canberra’s Parliament House earlier this month.
During the event, farmer, podcaster and founder of Motherland Australia, Stephanie Trethewey from Tasmania was named the winner of the award for her work in providing services, resources and virtual communities for mothers in regional locations. And the founder of OAK Magazine, Kimberley Furness from Victoria was awarded the National Runner Up title, for her work in creating opportunities to profile and celebrate female-led businesses.
Adding to the $15,000 Westpac grant already awarded to seven state and territory winners, Trethewey and Furness will receive an additional $20,000 and $15,000 respectively to further the development of their winning projects.
The AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award aims to recognise the critical role women play in rural and regional businesses, industries and communities. With the ongoing support of Platinum Sponsors, Westpac Agribusiness, the program provides opportunities to showcase and inspire the next generation of female leaders across Australia.
“I am incredibly grateful to both AgriFutures and Westpac for their ongoing support for Motherland’s vision to deliver more inclusive services for rural mothers regardless of their postcode,” Trethewey said. “Due to their location or a lack of local services, many rural women don’t have access to adequate postnatal support, including the opportunity to form meaningful connections with other women.
“Mothers are the backbone of these communities, yet they remain significantly undervalued and undersupported,” Trethewey added. “Their work underpins rural industries including the agriculture sector whether they are employed directly in it or not and it is crucial that we begin to recognise these contributions.”
Trethewey will use the Westpac grant to offer additional resources through the Motherland Village platform as well as a series of tailored postnatal programs developed in partnership with several rural-based hospitals.
AgriFutures Australia Managing Director John Harvey congratulated Mrs Trethewey on her achievements and ability to innovatively deliver services to women in rural, regional and remote communities.
“Through her advocacy and implementation of the Motherland programs, Stephanie has created a new model for postnatal care in regional Australia and a blueprint for others looking at ways to improve the delivery of services in our rural communities,” Harvey said. “Her drive to create spaces that encourage connection and support for other rural women is highly commendable and a true embodiment of the Award’s key objectives.”
The Award also recognised the contributions made by the other finalists. The 2022 cohort includes:
- Child Nurse and founder of Rural Child Health, Rebecca Bradshaw (Queensland).
- Disability Advocate and founder of Ability Agriculture, Josie Clarke (New South Wales).
- Primary producer and Kere to Country mentor, Robyn Verrall (South Australia).
- Remote educator and founder of RAISEducation, Kylie Jones (Northern Territory).
- Mental and physical health practitioner and founder of Farm Life Fitness, Louise O’Neill (Western Australia).
Meanwhile, applications have already opened for the 2023 edition of the AgriFutures Rural Women’s Award which will run until 19 October 2022 (Friday 27 January 2023 for NT Applicants).
