In this expansive episode registered nurse, John Wright, reflects on the career he has built as a remote area nurse and clinical educator currently serving some of Australia’s most remote communities. John is a proud emissary for a career that he has found to be rewarding, challenging and rich.

Sitting down with our host, Claire Delahunty, John shares the winding path he walked on his way to join the ranks of a profession of which men make up just over ten percent. His love of ‘bush’ communities has remained a constant throughout his life, as has his gravitation to work where his skills are most needed.

John is frank about the legacy of family violence in his childhood and the way it impacted his ability to deal with conflict as an adult. In the management roles he has taken on throughout his career, John has worked determinedly to develop healthy communication skills and tools to have difficult conversations. Learning is another constant throughout John’s story, as at every turn he has invested in further study to enable him to give his best to every role. He talks about the impostor syndrome and the leadership development opportunity that helped him to truly embrace ‘being a leader’.

John is currently a Nurse Education and Research Coordinator with the Tennant Creek Hospital’s Clinical Improvement Unit, and he has a part time secondment with Flinders University as a teaching academic. He completed Course 16 of the Australian Rural Leadership Program in 2010 thanks to a scholarship from the-then Department of Health and Ageing.

Some highlights:

• The rewards for men of a career in nursing

• Why early career health workers should give remote communities a go

• How to beat imposter syndrome and reject self-imposed limits

• How practical steps and peer support helped John un-learn a fear of conflict

• Insights into the long-term impact of the global pandemic on the health workforce

• Relationships and trust: the keys to being a health practitioner in rural communities

• How feeling valued, heard, and respected helps health workers to stay in the bush

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Australian Rural Leadership Program

Department of Health and Aged Care

CRANAplus

This episode discusses domestic and family violence. If you need support, reach out:

Lifeline | call 13 11 14 | text 0477 13 11 14

Kids Helpline | 1800 551 800

1800 RESPECT | 1800 737 732

Kids Helpline | 1800 551 800

MensLine Australia | 1300 789 978

Safe and Equal

In this raw episode, dairy industry leader, Aaron Thomas, shares the story of his mental health break-down in the midst of a “perfect storm” of personal and professional hardship. As well as managing a dairy farm in Southeast Gippsland, Aaron is working to break down the stigma, shame and lack of support that can see people struggle alone – especially in rural communities.

Sitting down with our host, Claire Delahunty, Aaron candidly talks about his battle with depression, anxiety and alcoholism, and how in 2016, his mental health deteriorated to the point that he twice attempted to end his life. From the darkness of rock-bottom, the belief of Aaron’s employers, his family and his industry supported him to get back up and choose the life and impact he wants to have.

October is Mental Health Month and as Aaron explains, “you never beat it, but you learn to live with it”.

Aaron is a Farmer Director on the GippsDairy Board and a graduate of Dairy Australia’s Developing Dairy Leaders program. He completed Course 29 of the Australian Rural Leadership Program thanks to a scholarship from the Gardiner Foundation.

Some highlights:

• Aaron describes the gradual and accumulative factors that can lead to mental health decline & how recovery is equally gradual

• The essential role of the support of Aaron’s employers and industry

• How ARLP Course 30 graduate and fellow dairy leader and mental health crusader, Sallie Jones, affirmed Aaron’s purpose in sharing his story

• How the Australian Rural Leadership Program taught him to ‘slow down to go faster’

• To be curious and ‘trust your gut’ if you think someone you know is struggling

• Why Aaron sees a bright future in the dairy industry

• Being truthful about our mental health is what matters, and it’s ok not to have all the answers

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Australian Rural Leadership Program

Gardiner Foundation

National Farmer Wellbeing Report

More on Aaron’s mental health and leadership journey

Sallie Jones, ARLP graduate, dairy industry leader and mental health advocate

In this inspiring episode, ‘connection cultivator’ and co-founder of the grass-roots group, Resilient Uki, shares her passion for hyper-local community leadership.

Sitting down with our host, Claire Delahunty, Mel explores what she and her community have learned from the devastating NSW floods of 2022. She unpacks how an existing scaffold of connection helped Uki to cope with the trauma and isolation of the flood, and what the community has done since to make sure that it is well prepared for the next challenge.

Mel’s motto is “in service”, and she richly demonstrates why kindness and connection are much more than ideals – but rather the foundation on which leadership and resilience can grow.

This conversation helps us to understand why community self-reliance is a growing reality of living in Australia’s changing climate, and to see the strengths inherent in our rural towns.

Mel has a background in environmental science and climate advocacy, and is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation’s Leading Australian Resilient Communities (LARC) Program. She has an article published in the Australian Journal of Emergency Management and is busy generating and collating community resilience building tools to share nationally.

Some highlights:

• Mel unpacks what ‘resilience’ means to her

• “Who gives a shit about the washing?” – Mel explains why there can be a ‘honeymoon period’ after natural disaster

• Why kindness and connection are the essential foundation for disaster preparedness

• Practical tips to help us all prepare for ‘next time’

• Plus the importance of giving everyone the space to have ideas and take the lead

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Leading Australian Resilient Communities (LARC) program

Resilient Uki

Red Cross community-led resilience teams

Australian Journal of Emergency Management: Anarchy in the Uki! How a hybrid of structure and autonomy can exist in community self-organisation

In this illuminating episode, cotton industry leaders and growers, Liz Stott and Aaron Kiely, share their stories of advocacy for their industry, and contribution to their communities.

Sitting down with host, ARLF Chief Executive Matt Linnegar, for this special conversation, Liz – deputy chair of the Cotton Australia board, and Aaron – President of the Queensland Farmers’ Federation, speak about their pathways in the cotton industry. They also reflect on the ways that a range of leadership development opportunities have shaped their understanding of how and where they can make an impact.

This rich conversation takes in everything from social license in ag to the power of a 5-year plan; the importance of mentors; and of knowing your core values.

Liz is a graduate of Course 20, and Aaron of Course 29 of the Australian Rural Leadership Program (ARLP), thanks to scholarships provided by the Cotton Research and Development Corporation. Aaron is also a graduate of the ARLF’s TRAIL Emerging Leaders Program, and of his industry’s Australian Future Cotton Leaders and Cotton20 programs. Both Aaron and Liz share a passion for building up people in agricultural industries to take the whole sector forward.

Some highlights:

• Reflections on the rare gift of constructive peer feedback
• How paying opportunities forward builds a leadership pipeline
• Appreciating that most people want to better understand farming
• Hear how Liz and Aaron have navigated ‘positional leadership’ and the everyday commitment to making a difference
• Plus Liz’s relatable insights into the parallels between leading and parenting

Our host:

Matt Linnegar is the Chief Executive of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation. He is the former CEO of the National Farmers’ Federation, and a committed advocate for rural Australia. Currently, he’s on the board of the Telstra Foundation, Agribusiness Australia and The Leadership Network.

Resources:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

Cotton Research and Development Corporation

TRAIL Emerging Leaders Program

Australian Rural Leadership Program

Cotton Australia Leadership Programs

If any of our episodes raise personal challenges or concerns for you, please reach out for support. Lifeline: call 13 11 14 | text 0477 13 11 14 | https://www.lifeline.org.au/

In this inspiring episode, Indigenous Midwife and Arrernte leader, Cherisse Buzzacott, shares her story of personal resilience and service to her community. She unpacks the ways systemic prejudice can compromise structures of care available to First Nations women and birthing people, and her determination not to accept what is broken, but to play a lead role in fixing it.

Cherisse is a graduate of the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation’s Milparanga Leadership Program (2023). She has just returned from the first session of Course 31 of the Australian Rural Leadership Program, thanks to a scholarship from the National Indigenous Australian Agency. Cherisse acknowledges the huge role of leadership development experiences in shaping her path in life.

Sitting down with our host, Claire Delahunty, Cherisse talks about her fulfilling role with the National NAIDOC Committee. This year’s NAIDOC Week theme is Keep the Fire Burning, which perfectly captures the spirit of activism and progress that lives in everything Cherisse stands for.

Some highlights:

• Cherisse shares the remarkable progress of the Birthing on Country movement in Australia
• How her most vulnerable personal experience has forged her determination as an advocate for birthing women
• Reflections on the keys to healing her home community of Mparntwe, Alice Springs
• How mindfully sharing leadership responsibilities can ensure all are supported; and all have a chance to speak
• The ways leadership development programs have directly influenced some of her biggest life decisions
  

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

⁠⁠⁠ARLF podcast blog⁠⁠⁠

⁠⁠⁠ARLF website

National Indigenous Australians Agency

NAIDOC Week 2024

Birth Time Documentary

Rodanthe Lipsett Indigenous Midwifery Charitable Fund

If any of our episodes raise concerns for you, please reach out for support.

Lifeline: call 13 11 14 | text 0477 13 11 14 | ⁠https://www.lifeline.org.au/

13YARN: call 13 92 76 | https://www.13yarn.org.au/

In this thoroughly aquatic episode, Port Fairy abalone diver, founder and director of Fox Wild Abalone, Craig Fox, takes us inside the world of this unique wild harvest industry. Craig revisits one of the darkest times in his professional life, when a highly contagious outbreak of Abalone Viral Ganglioneuritis (AVG) swept through the industry’s Western Zone. He speaks about the devastating emotional and financial impact, and the collective leadership the fisheries sector showed to recover and rebuild. Craig is passionate about fostering the diversity needed for his industry to continue to flourish into the future.

The busy leader will also next year participate in the Australian Rural Leadership Program, thanks to a scholarship from the Fisheries Research and Development Corporation.

Sitting down with our host, Claire Delahunty, Craig talks about the perspective his work gives him on healthy ocean environments, and the importance of telling the story of Australia’s world-leading seafood industries. We hope you enjoy this episode, as we mark World Ocean Day 2024.

Some highlights:

• Craig describes the power of leaders working together to recover after disaster
• The value of shared knowledge and mentoring
• The importance of young women making their mark on a male-dominated industry
• A reminder to check country of origin labels on our seafood, and buy Australian
• If you’ve ever wondered the best way to cook your abalone, Craig has the answer!

Our host:

Claire Delahunty, is a writer and journalist who has worked with the ARLF for more than ten years, interviewing leaders having a positive impact on rural and regional Australia.

Resources:

⁠⁠ARLF podcast blog⁠⁠

⁠⁠ARLF website

Fisheries Research and Development Corporation

World Ocean Day 2024

Fox Wild Abalone Instagram: @foxwildabalone

Abalone diver, Craig Fox_Port Fairy Winter Weekends

Abalone and Fox – A match made in heaven

If any of our episodes raise concerns for you, please reach out for support. Lifeline: call 13 11 14 | text 0477 13 11 14 | https://www.lifeline.org.au/

In this generous episode Indigenous leader, Bernice Hookey, shares her passion for disrupting the harmful cycles that exist around intergenerational trauma. She offers insight into her own journey of healing, and how it has led to her passion for fostering and supporting leadership through her amazing work with First Nations women.

Bernice was also sponsored by the National Indigenous Australians Agency to take part in course 29 of the Australian Rural Leadership Program in 2022.

Sitting down with our host, Claire Delahunty, she describes how grief and darkness led her to a stronger connection with the importance of love and humanity in leadership. She also stresses how essential it is to be open to “everyday learning” and not to be complacent about bias, prejudice, discrimination and racism.

Some highlights:

• Bernice shares her connection to Culture, Country and the vital role of Elders
• The power of keeping a diary and writing to reflect on your life
• Leaning in to “growing through what we’re going through”
• The role we can all play in sharing the responsibility for reconciliation
• How her business ‘positively disrupts’ social conditioning to create positive ripples for the next generation

If any of the content is a trigger, we’ve provided some support service details below:

• Lifeline: call 13 11 14 | text 0477 13 11 14 | www.lifeline.org.au
• 1800 Respect: call 1800 737 732 | text 0458 737 732 | www.1800respect.org.au
• 13 Yarn: call 13 92 76 | www.13yarn.org.au
  

Resources:

⁠ARLF podcast blog⁠

⁠ARLF website

Across the Tasman: a journey of inspiration, connection and reflection

MZB Empowerment website

Yanalagnami

Aunty Bernice on the Yanalagnami Chamgemakers podcast

In this raw episode, double organ transplant recipient and Herd of Hope founder, Megan McLoughlin takes us through the grief of receiving an extraordinary gift from a stranger, and her path to purpose and peace.

Megan describes the experience of managing juvenile diabetes growing up in rural South Australia; losing most of her sight at the age of 26 and the joy and freedom she finds in barrel racing.
Megan undertook a mentorship through the Australian Rural Leadership Foundation’s National Mentoring Program in 2023 – a process which helped her realise she did not have to “prove” to the world that her life was worthy of saving.

Sitting down with our host, Claire Delahunty, she reflects on her journey to embrace her intrinsic value, and the inspiration she has taken from the humble herd animals she has spent her life around.

Some highlights:

• Megan talks about the challenges of managing a chronic health problem in rural Australia
• How to be an advocate and raise awareness
• The complexity of receiving a life-saving gift from a stranger
• What we can all do to reframe the problematic label of ‘disability’
• Why we need our ‘herd’ around us, more than ever

Links:

ARLF podcast blog

ARLF website

National Mentoring Program (Drought Initiative)

Herd of Hope website

Blind barrel racer Megan McLoughlin tells her story of disability, success | ABC Australia

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Lifeline Australia