vegetables

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The Women in Horticulture High Tea event was
chaired by Pip Courtney, host of ABC’s Landline.
Women in horticulture
tackle the big issues at high tea
A HIGHLIGHT OF THE 2016 NATIONAL HORTICULTURE CONVENTION OCCURRED AWAY
FROM THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF RACV ROYAL PINES. THE WOMEN IN HORTICULTURE
HIGH TEA PROVIDED AROUND 100 DELEGATES WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE WINED
AND DINED WHILE LISTENING TO A NUMBER OF POWERFUL WOMEN IN THE INDUSTRY,
INCLUDING ABC’S LANDLINE HOST, PIP COURTNEY.
Women of all ages and
backgrounds – along
with a handful of men – came
together to celebrate and talk
about the opportunities of
women in horticulture at a
high tea held in June.
In conjunction with the
2016 National Horticulture
Convention, the Women
in Horticulture High Tea,
sponsored by Steritech, was
held at Palazzo Versace on
the Gold Coast on Saturday
25 June. The two-hour event
was chaired by Pip Courtney
from ABC’s Landline and
featured a panel of five
female growers along with
a keynote speaker, former
Member for Murray Dr
Sharman Stone.
Delicious sandwiches,
cakes and scones were
met with approval, as was
the champagne, tea and
coffee served throughout
the event.
The afternoon kicked off with
a video featuring Just Veg, a
Kalfresh marketing initiative
that had previously featured on
Landline. Ms Courtney spoke
following the presentation,
using Just Veg as an example
of a powerful success story
about women in horticulture.
“It frustrates me that there
are so many similar good
news stories about women in
ag which aren’t being told,”
Ms Courtney said.
“The reason they aren’t
being aired, broadcast, posted,
shared, tweeted or linked to is
that the family of the woman
or the enterprise involved,
doesn’t tell anybody. She is
going about her business,
unaware of how interesting or
inspiring her story is. Unaware
too, of the positives their
business or their industry can
gain from the media coverage.
“So the message I have for
you today is: Don’t keep your
achievements to yourself.”
During her keynote speech,
Dr Sharman Stone reflected
on her time as Member of
Murray and the challenges
that faced her electorate,
including the battle to save
the SPC Ardmona processing
factory in Shepparton.
Dr Stone also discussed
the fact that there was a
limited number of women
on horticulture boards. She
urged the audience to get
their daughters as well as
their sons involved in
agriculture and reiterated that
they were so much more than
“farmers’ wives”.
“What are we doing women?
We have 50 per cent of the
brains of the population in
Australia; 50 per cent of the
energy; 50 per cent of the
caring. We’ve got more than 50
per cent of formal education
and qualifications – much
more,” Dr Stone said.
“I’m saying to our women
here: we’ve got to step up.
We can keep on blaming
the glass ceilings, the
discrimination and the fact
that for the same job, we get
17 per cent less pay in Australia
– all of that. But it’s also about
us making sure that we don’t
give up. We can’t give up
because too much is at stake.”
Following the presentations,
members of the audience
were involved in an interactive
question and answer session
with a five-woman grower panel.
Kalfresh’s Tracey Rieck,
Alice Gorman and Jane Miles
joined Horticulture Innovation