International Women's Day Breakfast 2025

Breakfast is on us as we celebrate International Women’s Day (IWD) on Friday 7th March. Join us at the Bendigo Town Hall from 8am for a shared breakfast, coffee, inspiring speakers, and stimulating conversation. 

This year’s IWD event is set to be truly inspiring, featuring a keynote address by the Hon Maree Edwards MP, and an expert panel discussion on this year’s United Nations theme for IWD ‘March Forward: It’s Time to Turn Promises into Progress’, which calls for collective action towards a gender equal future where no one is left behind. Panelists include First Nations leader Aunty Marilyne Nicholls; musician, writer, and disability advocate Eliza Hull; Associate Dean, Research and Industry Engagement at Bendigo’s La Trobe Rural Health School, Dr. Kirsty Forsdike; refugee and migrant advocate, Dulce Muñoz, and LGBTIQ+ advocate and inclusion expert Sherene Clow. (See below for more information about the panelists and keynote.)

We are also thrilled to announce that award-winning songwriter and musician Eliza Hull will be performing live as part of our event. Known for her ethereal vocals and heartfelt, organic instrumentation, Eliza's live performance promises to be a captivating experience. She has graced iconic stages from the Sydney Opera House to SXSW and Ability Fest, and her songs have been featured on ABC KIDS TV, The Heights, and in US shows like Awkward, Teen Wolf, and Saving Hope. We are thrilled to have her share her talent with our community.

Thanks to City of Greater Bendigo for their generous support of this event.

Please note: A photographer will be present at this event. During registration, please indicate your consent for your image to be taken and shared through our communication channels (website, social media, etc). If you do not consent, tick the appropriate box and please inform our staff on the day.

Keynote Speaker:

Maree Edwards:
Maree has been a Member of the Victorian Parliament since November 2010 and was re-elected in 2014, 2018 and 2022.

Maree serves as the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, which she has held since August 2022. Previously, Maree served as Deputy Speaker from 2017-2022.

Prior to her election Maree served as an Electorate Officer to the former Member for Bendigo West for eleven years. This allowed Maree to get to know the electorate well and the Bendigo West community.  

Maree has a Bachelor of Arts (Hons) from La Trobe University.  

Previously, Maree was Chair of the joint Parliamentary Family and Community Development Committee in the 58th Parliament overseeing inquiries into: 

• Abuse in Disability Services in Victoria 
• Autism services in Victoria 
• Peri-natal services in Victoria 

Maree was also previously Chair of the Bendigo Metro Rail Taskforce and Chair of the Bendigo Tech School project committee. 

Maree is currently the Chair of the Virginia Hill Estate Revitalisation Project Consultative Committee. 

Maree is a mother of four and stepmother to two grownup children, and a grandmother of 10.

Panelists:

Aunty Marilyne Nicholls:
Aunty Marilyne Nicholls is a recognised Victorian artist and traditional weaver practitioner based in Wood Wood, Victoria. Aunty Marilyne’s Apical Ancestry connects her with both fresh-water and saltwater Country of the Murray River, Victoria, and the saltwater people of the Coorong, South Australian coastal regions. Marilyne’s connections to Country are vast. Born in Swan Hill and growing up in rural Victoria has given Marilyne a deep understanding of Aboriginal issues, agricultural practices, cultural practices and Aboriginal healthcare. Marilyne’s professional career spanned 38 years in healthcare, Aboriginal health, and Community Development. After retiring from the health system, Marilyne travelled overseas, spending time with other First Nations People, to understand and exchange Cultural and Spiritual knowledge. Aunty Marilyne’s return to Dja Dja Wurrung Country enabled her to further connect with Djandak practices on Country, and to devote her time and energies and to sharing her knowledge as a Djaara descendant. Aunty Marilyne is passionate about involving the Dja Dja Wurrung Community in creating opportunities that are in line with the 2013 Recognition and Settlement Agreement (RSA) and the Dhelkunya Dja Dja Dja Wurrung Country Plan 2014 – 2034. To date Aunty Marilyne is an active member of the Dja Dja Wurrung Clans Aboriginal Corporation and Djandak Enterprises. 

Dulce Muñoz: 
Ducle is an advocate for refugee rights, food security, and institutional accountability. She has provided complex case management for people sent to offshore detention, working alongside the National Justice Project and Alison Battisson to fight indefinite detention. As part of the Emergency Protocol for Food Insecurity in Greater Sydney, she helped lead urgent food relief efforts. Now, as Redress Advocate at LCMS, she supports survivors of institutional abuse, applying a trauma-informed, feminist, and decolonized approach. Passionate about migrant women’s contributions to culture, work, and social movements, she continues to push for systemic change. Her work has been recognized with multiple awards, including the Edna Ryan Award, City of Sydney Humanitarian Award, and NSW Health Community Service Award. 

Eliza Hull: 
Eliza Hull is an award-winning musician, writer, and passionate disability advocate. She is the creator of the ABC series We’ve Got This, which explores parenting with disability, the series went on to inspire an internationally acclaimed book of the same name. Eliza has appeared on prominent platforms such as the BBC, The Drum, ABC News Breakfast, and ABC’s Q&A. She is also a contributing writer to the anthologies Growing Up Disabled in Australia and Teacher Teacher. 

In addition to her advocacy, Eliza is a regular writer for ABC News and was the writer and producer behind the ABC Kids show And Then Something Changed, which highlights the experiences of a child with disability. 

She is also the co-writer of the award-winning children’s book Come Over to My House, which champions authentic representation of families with disabilities, her new children’s book ‘The World We Can Build’ is due out in May this year. 

Eliza is also an award-winning musician and has performed at venues such as Sydney Opera House, Hamer Hall, Melbourne Recital Centre, and has supported artists such as Jen Cloher, Clare Bowditch, Dan Sultan and Maple Glider. She is currently on tour with Sarah Blasko and is writing music for a British feature film. 

A dynamic speaker, Eliza has presented at Parliament House, the NDIS, SXSW, and the Free and Equal Human Rights Conference. She is deeply committed to advocating for a more accessible music industry, offering her expertise to organisations such as BIGSOUND, the ARIAS, and APRA AMCOS. Currently, Eliza is the Disability Arts Reporter for ABC Melbourne while also working on her highly anticipated sixth album. 

Sherene Clow: 
Sherene Clow is the LGBTIQA+ Well Being Officer at Dhelkaya Health in Castlemaine. She has spent the last 8 years as a vocal advocate for LGBTIQA+ Inclusion in the Mount Alexandra Shire, as not only an employee for CHIRP Community Health and Dhelkaya Health but also as a social commentator on MainFM’s Queer and Now Program, Founding member of the Castlemaine Pride Festival and on-going original member of Mount Alexander Shire Council’s LGBTIQA+ Steering Group. 

Dr. Kirsty Forsdike: 
Kirsty is the Associate Dean, Research and Industry Engagement at La Trobe Rural Health School in Bendigo. She is an Associate Professor and Principal Research Fellow in ReGen: Reducing Gender-Based Violence Research Group in the Violet Vines Marshman Centre for Rural Health Research. Her research focuses on organisational responses to gender based interpersonal violence, through a feminist socio-ecological lens. Her research work to date has looked at organisational responses across health, sport and recreation, and the public service sector to intimate partner violence, family violence, sexual assault and harassment, and violence against women more broadly. Kirsty is now driving a program of impactful research that addresses gender-based interpersonal violence in and through sport titled "Creating Safer Sport Cultures for Women" and has a particular interest in rural and regional communities. She specialises in qualitative research methodology, including the use of the World Café Method for multi-stakeholder collaborative co-design, and multidisciplinary mixed-method evaluations. 

About IWD 2025:

The UN Women Australia’s International Women’s Day theme for 2025 is:  March forward. It's time to turn promises into progress. 

This year’s theme is a powerful call to action - to march forward together to create a gender equal future where no one is left behind. The theme is a potent reminder that true progress demands equal representation, continuous learning, valuing diverse experiences and perspectives, and meaningfully inclusive decision-making processes. 

We must unite to dismantle the ongoing barriers to gender equality, particularly for those considered to be more marginalised. The 2025 theme brings the momentum we need as communities to keep learning, amplify the voices and experiences of diverse women, and mobilise actions toward achieving equality for all women and gender diverse people. 

For more information about IWD 2025, include how you can get involved, and other events and activities happening in our region, please visit: International Women's Day - Women’s Health Loddon Mallee (whlm.org.au)