My friends, welcome to our National Capital. I want you to know how thrilled and delighted I am to join you this evening for this celebration to mark your sixtieth anniversary - to wish you an enriching and rewarding time, as you gather for your conference, getting away from the day to day responsibilities and demands: to share ideas and experiences, to plan and develop strategies, to recharge the batteries, renew friendships, make some new ones.

Giving and receiving that special support that we women count on from each other for encouragement, reassurance and acknowledgement.

Social Researcher and Commentator Hugh Mackay says, “We depend on our connections with each other for our sense of identity, morality, emotional security and psychological well-being; in that sense, we belong to each other.”

It’s always the corridor conversations, the gatherings at the end of the day that matter the most, and the inspiration we find in the wisdom and leadership and the ideas and research of thoughtful presenters.

I’m grateful for this opportunity to thank you for what you do for your community, for the people you serve, for our country, to express my appreciation for what you do for me, the key role you play in enabling me in my hopes and aspirations as Governor-General to give my very best to doing what you do too - serving our fellow Australians, enriching and enhancing community engagement, listening, learning, understanding, giving acknowledgement and recognition.

As you know, I have very significant constitutional and ceremonial responsibilities and functions, but I see the heart of this role in our community, and that is where I see the very best of Australia.

It’s a great privilege getting to know more and more about our country, its magnificent landscape, seeing for myself the contributions, the generous spirit, the volunteerism, the neighborliness, the toughness, the compassion, what it means to be Australian. Those characteristics that make our nation what it is, make us who we are.

I always feel warmly welcomed by local government, by mayors, councilors, executives, staff, who ensure that our visits to regional, rural and remote centers are instructive, enjoyable, purposeful.

So often they are in the midst of demanding times for you, especially in the aftermath of disasters - the Victorian bushfires, the floods in Queensland, Victoria, Western Australia, northern New South Wales, again and again I have observed, with great respect, the skills of women in disaster management and recovery.

Lyn Gunter, Mayor of Murrundindi Shire.

Jenny Dowell, Mayor of Lismore.

Lyn Russell, CEO and Val Schier, Mayor of Cairns Regional Council, who galvanised the community in the wake of cyclone Yasi.

Your involvement will be vital in addressing the challenges posed as disaster affected towns rebuild, and as more broadly, community facilities wear out and need replacement and updating.

I always feel honoured to be invited to special occasions, celebrations bringing people together.

We all know and understand the value, the precious value of community engagement. Reaching out, bringing people in, developing a sense of belonging.

So often I hear myself saying: “I wish you could have been there”

So often I share conversations and interactions that are uplifting. I see clever innovative ideas translated into programs and services that are vital to families, in education, health, sustainability, cultural sporting life.

Everywhere I travel, I note that more women are involved in all of these at every level. Leading, organising, doing the hard yards in the background

And of course, I always seek them out, I always ask the question, how many women?

As Patron of the Year of Women in Local Government last year I discovered that statistics on women in local government are loose, and that there is a dearth of information for historical comparison, but it seems that the picture is like this:

51 percent of local government employees are women.

Women in senior management roles represent only 20 percent of the workforce.

5 percent of Chief Executives are women.

Women account for less than 30 percent of elected officials.

You are well acquainted with these figures but I believe they need to be restated when we gather like this.

I know that the key objective of your big year in 2010 was to encourage greater participation of women in all areas of local government.

One of your biggest achievements was the recognition by a number of ground breaking Councils, that gender diversity is more than a women’s issue

It is an organisational issue that has the capability to impact positively on the bottom line.

My friends this is a challenging but also a very exciting time as you push on towards the goal that goes to the very heart of your organisation: equality of opportunity for women that is what underpins your admirable aims and objectives.

It’s important too, to celebrate your achievements to take pride in what you are doing to honour the pioneers the women who had the vision and the dedication 60 years ago to establish your organisation.

In 1951, the jubilee year of our Commonwealth, representatives of women’s organisations throughout Australia, came together here in Canberra as part of the Jubilee Women’s Convention, chaired by Dame Enid Lyons.

I love the stories of those women on whose shoulders we stand – in them we find a source of courage, support and inspiration to keep on our pathway. Encouraging, mentoring, strategising, taking action

It’s hard work, but it’s exhilarating, and we know that our strength is in our capacity for solidarity and action to adapt, to educate, to influence to engender flexibility and acceptance, and to build strong connected communities.

My friends, let me thank you once more for the rich and valuable contribution you make to our society’s prosperity and well-being; to the advancement of our social, economic and cultural life, and to the advancement of our democracy. I hope you have a wonderful conference. I know you will.

Congratulations on your sixtieth anniversary.