The Country Women's Association 99th Annual General meeting came to a close on Thursday May 6 with a successful outcome for many of the motions.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The success was shared by Bega Valley branches whose two motions were passed.
The first coming from the Cobargo branch, "That the policy of CWA of NSW shall be to advocate for the placement of prescribed cannabis medication on the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme."
"I'm pleased to say that went through unanimously without debate," said secretary of the Far South Coast group and the Cobargo branch Lynn Lawson.
"We are getting so much positive feedback, it's just wonderful. They're just saying that it's about time."
Ms Lawson said the motion was very important to many CWA members including their local members with loved ones whose pain management or illnesses had been drastically improved by the use of medicinal cannabis.
"The people who need it most are those more likely to have a disability or be on pensions and therefore not about to it," she said.
The second motion was put forward by the Pambula-Merimbula Branch which was put to vote and then carried out after winning the majority.
"That the policy of the CWA of NSW shall be to advocate for a review of the organ and tissue donation policies in Australia, with consideration of a soft opt-out policy in preference to an opt-in policy, to assist increasing the rate of organ and tissue donations for all Australians."
On healthcare, other relevant motions carried out include lobbying the government for increased funding for rural and remote local health districts by carefully considering the amount of regional tourists as well as residents.
The CWA will also be lobbying the government for sufficient face to face acute psychiatric services in rural areas as well as advocating for the use of existing mental health services to be conducted in a single coordinated approach.
They will lobby for immediate action with regard to the failure of aged care service delivery in NSW.
Also on the agenda is just transitions from coal and gas as we move towards low carbon-intensive industries.
In terms of agriculture they will lobby the Local Land services reintroduce shire stock numbers for agribusinesses and oppose the construction of large-scale solar plants on prime agricultural land to protect food and fibre productivity.
They also want Australian wool insulation products to be used in development and refurbishment of NSW and ACT public buildings and housing.
The establishment of the proposed Commonwealth Canopy Rewilding of Sydney's Koalas Project is also set to be supported by the Association.
The CWA also plan to take active steps to increase meaningful understanding of, and engagement with, First Nations communities across the state.
"The CWA of NSW takes its advocacy role very seriously and once motions are formally endorsed by the membership, they will become part of our lobbying platform for the next 12 months," said Stephanie Stanhope, CWA of NSW president.