Senator TROETH (Victoria—Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) (3.03 p.m.)— by leave—I move:

That the Senate notes that:

(a) Tuesday, October 15 is the 2002 World Rural Women's Day and is celebrated in over 80 countries;

(b) the theme for the day is “Poverty is Everybody's Business: Education and Training”, a key for poverty eradication;

(c) World Rural Women's Day began at the 1995 UN Conference for Women-Beijing as a practical way of obtaining recognition and support for the multiple roles of 1.6 billion rural women—representing more than a quarter of the total world population—who are mostly farmers and small entrepreneurs;

(d) about a third of Australian farmers are women and our country is leading the way in terms of promoting rural women at a national level; and

(e) it is essential to continue to increase the opportunities for Australia's rural women and acknowledge their predominantly unsung roles in the agricultural sector.