Alby Schultz (Hume, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We in this place all understand the very serious problems that rural people, particularly farmers, are facing during this long and debilitating drought. To its credit the government has responded magnificently to that challenge with its drought aid packages. But I want to talk about some of the things that I as a local member, along with my wife, have seen and experienced.

As we all know, farmers and their families are very proud and resilient people. But when you come face to face with the quiet dignity of a farmer’s wife telling you that the first thing they did as a family when the drought hit them and their finances so badly was to give away what we take for granted—that is, those non-essential items that we talk about—it is confronting. My wife was heartbroken at hearing some of the stories from these women, so she asked a couple of them to go to Sydney with her to talk to some women about their plight as wives of farmers affected by drought. She also took a 27-year-old young woman, who was the daughter of one of them. They addressed a meeting of 200 women in the New South Wales state parliament, many of them from the North Shore. After this young woman had read a poem about how the drought was affecting her dad, one of the women noticed the hands of the young woman and asked, ‘Dear, what’s the matter with your hands?’ The young woman said, ‘I’ve been out fencing with Dad because he can’t afford to employ any labour on the farm.’ The lady reached into her handbag and pulled out two containers of very expensive hand cream and gave them to her. My wife said there was not a dry eye in the room.

About a week and a half later, my office received a station wagon load of cosmetics, perfumes and the essential items that women need to keep themselves soft and supple, smelling nicely and looking pretty. We put them into bags and delivered them to these farmers’ wives, who in many cases were overcome with emotion because they had not seen these essential items for so long. My wife also spoke to a group of people in Camden, and after that a similar exercise occurred.

More recently, I spoke on local radio in Canberra about the difficulties faced by farmers and their partners and children. I received a phone call in my Parliament House office from a lady named Ann Dawson, offering support. Ann is a member of a group of volunteers, and they loaded up my car with goods to be given to struggling farmers. But it did not stop there. The Wanniassa Trefoil Guild, under the presidency of Merrill Davis, of Kambah, invited my wife to speak to them at their Christmas luncheon on Sunday. The Trefoil Guild is the adult section of Guiding, and they carry the spirit of Guiding into the community. My wife addressed the women at the luncheon and was overwhelmed by the concern and generosity of these Canberrans.

Caitlin Paxevanos, a junior Guide from the Canberra 1st Group, presented bags of necessary goods and told my wife that the Guides had worked to raise the money to buy goods of their choice. Caitlin, a delightful Junior Guide aged eight, said she had had to vacuum her dad’s car to help raise money for her donation. My car was later loaded to the hilt with boxes and boxes of vital goods from the truly caring people of Canberra and from the ladies of the Trefoil Guild. I understand that these wonderful, generous women will continue to buy goods out of their own pockets for stricken farmers. The artists who attend the Merrill Davis Art School are also contributing to this cause, with Merrill providing her garage as a depot for the goods, which I am sure is an inconvenience to Merrill.

The reason I bring this matter into the chamber is to acknowledge the significant and open generosity of Australians to people in need. I particularly acknowledge the significant contribution that Australian women have made towards their rural counterparts, and more importantly to their children and their families. I acknowledge their contributions. I know they will make a lot of lives happier out there during a very difficult drought period, and, hopefully, we will be able to do more in the future. (Time expired)