August Column: ClubsNSW Chair Sallianne Faulkner

ClubsNSW, under the Your Local Club brand, was a Major Partner of the Bush Summit, which took place at Charles Sturt University.

The event brought together politicians and industry leaders, as well as representatives from The Daily Telegraph, to hear about and debate some of the key issues affecting the regions. Keynote addresses were delivered by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and NSW Premier Chris Minns.

Wagga RSL played host to the Bush Summit dinner, with guests including Leader of the NSW Nationals Dugald Saunders, NSW Opposition Leader Mark Speakman, and NSW ministers Jenny Aitchison and Rose Jackson.

ClubsNSW CEO Rebecca Riant used her address on the night to highlight the vital role that clubs play in their communities and urged both State and Federal Governments to ease the regulatory burden on clubs — pointing to the more than 50 pieces of legislation that currently govern our industry. 

Through our Bush Summit partnership, the ClubsNSW Media Team secured editorial opportunities with The Daily Telegraph, including a Rebecca Riant opinion piece (here), and stories about Bathurst RSL’s support of the Defence Community Dogs program (here) and the industry’s support of Boys to the Bush (here). Keep your eyes peeled in the coming days for a piece on the Regional Academies of Sport (RASi) and Laurieton United Services Club’s support of the Community at 3 charity.

You can read more about the Bush Summit dinner in a ClubLIFE article here and a piece on the main event here.

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We are just weeks away from the 2025 ClubsNSW Annual Conference & AGM, which is again taking place at the Gold Coast Convention & Exhibition Centre from 8 to 10 October.

This is the premier event on the ClubsNSW calendar and is a fantastic opportunity to network with industry peers and hear from speakers on a range of issues pertaining to clubs.

This year the program will kick off with a pre-Conference race day at the Gold Coast Turf Club on Wednesday, 8 October — which is included in the price of your Conference ticket. The AGM will be held the following afternoon.

Time is running out to secure your ticket. For further information and to book your spot, click here. I look forward to seeing you there!

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It was great to catch up with many of you at the recent ClubsNSW Western Metropolitan Regional Meeting held at the Polish Club in Ashfield. 

As well as discussing some of the key issues affecting the industry, it was wonderful to sample the Club’s cuisine that led it to recently take out the state-wide small club category at the Your Local Clubs Perfect Plate Awards.

Congratulations to all of the recent winners — the competition certainly illustrated the quality and diversity of food on offer at NSW clubs.

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Finally, there have been some wonderful guests recently on the ClubLIFE Podcast, with the episodes well worth a listen.

Those to participate have included Coogee Legion Club CEO Kristy Strong, Wests Illawarra CEO Danny Munk and PCYC Broken Hill Club Manager Linden Cox. Make sure you also keep a lookout for a new episode next week featuring Revesby Workers’ Club CEO Scott Bennetts.

Every episode of the ClubLIFE Podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever else you consume your podcasts. They can also be heard via the ClubLIFE website here.