I hope that all of our NCWQ Members enjoyed your Christmas break and started 2023 refreshed.
I am delighted to introduce you to your 2023 NCWQ Committee Members and Advisers:
Vice Presidents – Erin Cunningham and Bridget Cullen
Treasurer – Ramona McGregor
Secretary – Dana Voyle
Recording Secretary – Sandy Smith
Committee Members
Kathy Cavanagh
Ronda Nix
Alice Cunningham
Susan Sing
Esha Sharma
Rand Al-Mahaidi
Advisers
Pat Pepper – Environment
Des Taylor – Education
Health – Kathryn Mainstone
Rural, Regional and Remote Women – Tracy Martin
Child, Youth and Family – Bridget Cullen
Mass Media – Cheryl Gray
Women & Employment – Leah Gabriel
Thank you to the members and their partners who were able to join us for our Christmas gathering. After a full year of activities, it was lovely to be able to sit and chat as friends and begin the wind down of a busy 2022.
Recently your NCWQ Committee met for a strategic planning session which was held at Korda Mentha’s office. We are grateful to Susan Sing for making this space available for NCWQ. At this session, we discussed the following:
- What we thought we did well in 2022
- What we could do better in 2023
- How we can better engage with our members
- What new initiatives we can introduce in 2023
- What areas of advocacy to pursue
- NCWQ’s alignment with NCWA
The Committee concluded that our Bursary presentation, held in conjunction with the President’s Lunch, was a bursary and member engagement success. We took on board feedback that the ticket price was slightly prohibitive and we have resolved to find a corporate sponsor to fund the bursary recipients and members of our Team Bursary.
In my role as President of the NCWA, I have been attending the various State and Territory’s council meetings during 2022. Thanks to COVID, most of the council meetings are now conducted online and this has resulted in significant improvement in attendance. The NCWQ Committee members agreed that our council meetings will be open to all NCWQ members and their guests.
At these meetings, we will invite a guest speaker to speak to and engage with our members. If new members are in attendance, it will also give them the opportunity to introduce themselves. Members wishing to attend will need to register via our NCWQ website so that a Zoom link can be provided securely. So please check our website regularly for guest speaker and meeting information.
Over the past 15 years or so, funds raised at the Morning Tea Fashion Parades have provided us with the money needed to pay for the two NCWQ Bursaries. However, our goal to attract younger members has been so successful, and the majority of our committee members hold a regular day job, making it difficult for them to help with the organisation and attendance of weekday events. This year, we have decided to trial a different event. On Saturday April 29, we will hold a special event – Faulty Towers The Dining Experience. Tickets are priced at $99 for members and include a welcome drink, a 3-course meal and a 2-hour Faulty Towers interactive show. Due to the need for the Actors to project their voices without amplification, seats are only limited to 130. I suggest you mark this in your diary as this is a fabulous show and a great way to spend a Saturday afternoon!
In relation to the areas of Advocacy, your committee discussed the following:
- The Uluru Statement of the Heart
- The National Plan to end violence against women and children
- The lack of oversight and dangers associated with dating websites
- The National Strategy on Gender Equality
- The war in Ukraine and
- The repression of women in Afghanistan and Iran
Our advocacy is only as good as the Advisers we bring on board. In order to effect change in the above issues, we seek applications for the following Adviser positions:
- Human Rights, International Relations and Peace
- Legislation & Implementation of Conventions
- Migration
I will be away in New York for the CSW67, returning back to Australia on the 16 March. Our March Council meeting will be held on Thursday 23 March and I look forward to seeing as many of you online as possible.
Chiou See Anderson
NCWQ President
Born in Singapore, Chiou See arrived in Brisbane in 1988 to complete her Accounting degree at QUT. Over the next 15 years, she had a variety of careers spanning running a 2 site Ford dealership, accounting for an Italian coal mining company and marketing for a large Queensland legal firm before starting a business advisory consulting business.
During her business advisory career, Chiou See’s clients included a prominent Brisbane family business, the Queensland government and various construction industry unions. A subsequent business review of the Royal Queensland Aero Club in the late 90s resulted in a full-time appointment. During the 5-year tenure, an international flying school and an aircraft engineering school were added to the portfolio and Chiou See successfully secured the first overseas airline training contract to Brisbane in the early 2000s.
In 2003, whilst completing her MBA, Chiou See’s class modelled the aggregate purchasing power of the world’s ageing population. Later that year, she secured a block of land in the Daisy Hill koala habitat with a view to starting a retirement village. A development application refusal resulted in a lengthy and costly appeal in the Planning & Environment Court. The preliminary court approval was handed down in Jan 2007 with final negotiations concluding in Mar 2008. Elements started construction in late 2009.
Today, Elements Retirement Village is fully complete with 123 villas and is home to 170 seniors.
