Congratulations to Tumut's Natalie Randall, who was named this morning as the Wagga Wagga Electorate Woman of the Year for 2021.

It was an absolute privilege to acknowledge Natalie's work in a wide range of roles in the Tumut community, including on the board of Valmar, and as chair of the Tumut Chamber of Commerce.

More recently, the mother-of-three has been a strong advocate for the bushfire recovery in the Snowy Valleys local government area and is a member of the council’s bushfire recovery committee.

In this role, Ms Randall, a financial planner who runs her own business, has been able to offer a perspective on what women and children have experienced during and after the bushfires

Natalie was someone who was able to bring an alternative and very important viewpoint to the recovery process at a time that was very difficult.

In accepting the award, Natalie paid tribute to the many women who had worked to support their communities in the past year.

Once again, my most heartfelt congratulations to Natalie, pictured here with her mother, Lyn Randall.

As part of this morning's International Women's Day celebration and morning tea - in conjunction with the Wagga Wagga Women's Health Centre - we hosted a panel discussion on the issue of unconscious bias, which was consistent with this year's theme "Choose to Challenge".

Participants were able to hear, and ask questions of three panellists: Stacey Jenkins, the Acting Head of School, School of Management and Marketing at Charles Sturt University; Donna Murray, the chief executive officer of Indigenous Allied Health Australia, and Rachel Whiting, the chief executive officer of Regional Development Australia-Riverina.

Thank you to everyone who came along and participated in the discussion this morning, in particular to Jenny Rolfe of the Wagga Wagga Women's Health Centre, Rachel, Stacey and Donna (pictured with me in the first picture), as well as Aunty Cheryl Penrith, who did this morning's Welcome to Country.