About Us
Who are we?
The NRPC was first formed in the mid-1990s and after a period of hiatus was reinvigorated in 2016 as a club that encourages debate and discussion and highlights issues affecting rural and regional Australia.
It hosts events and conversations to create opportunities for more informed debate and networking on domestic and global issues which affect Australia’s vital rural industries, especially agriculture.
The NRPC is located in Canberra and is affiliated with the Australian Council of Agricultural Journalists (ACAJ), which in turn is an active member of the International Federation of Agricultural Journalists (IFAJ).
These associations give the NRPC Australia-wide connections and international standing while enabling journalists who enter our local Awards to go further in achieving reward and recognition.
What we do
The NRPC hosts regular lively events to create opportunities for more informed debate and networking for people who support a stronger and more sustainable future for rural and regional Australia.
Committee
Meet the NRPC team
The NRPC executive and committee live and work in and around Canberra and work together to host events that highlight issues affecting rural and regional Australia.
Gabrielle Chan
President
Gabrielle Chan is a journalist, columnist and author. Most recently, she was rural and regional editor of Guardian Australia. She has also worked for News Ltd and the ABC. Gabrielle is the author of Rusted Off: Why Country Australia Is Fed Up (2018), which was shortlisted for the Prime Minister’s Literary Prize and the Walkleys Book Award. Her latest book is Why You Should Give a F**k About Farming (2021).
Kath Sullivan
NRPC Committee Member
Kath is the ABC’s national rural reporter and has previously worked as a breakfast radio presenter and for the rural newspaper, The Weekly Times.
Tim Lester
Vice President
Tim is the senior policy manager for the Australian Forest Products Association and has worked in natural resource management, sustainable agriculture, animal welfare, biosecurity and rural innovation.
Sarah Paradice
Treasurer
Sarah works for the Crawford Fund, an organisation that promotes the benefits of Australia’s investment in international agricultural research for global food nutrition security.
Mike Foley
NRPC Committee Member
Mike is the climate change, environment and energy correspondent for The Age and Sydney Morning Herald and was previously the national political reporter for Rural Press.
Lucy Barbour
NRPC Committee Member
Lucy Barbour is the ABC’s national regional affairs reporter and has worked as a political reporter and for flagship news and current affairs programs 730, AM, The World Today and PM.
Lachlan Leeming
NRPC Committee Member
Lachlan is the federal political reporter for The Daily Telegraph, based in the Canberra Press Gallery. He started his journalism career in country NSW, before working in London, Sydney and Parliament House.
Mike Bowers
NRPC Committee Member
Mike Bowers is a photographer and a regular commentator on ABC Radio and host of Talking Pictures on Insiders which airs on ABC main news channel, ABC News 24 and I-View. Mike has spent 38 years in the Federal Parliamentary Press Gallery, has covered 13 Federal election campaigns and has accompanied 10 prime ministers on assignments both around Australia and overseas. He left The Guardian in 2024 to work on longer term photographic projects.
Georgie Robertson
NRPC Publicity Consultant
Georgie Robertson runs The Regional PR Co., a creative public relations agency based in Wagga working with a niche portfolio of clients who are creating positive impact for rural and regional communities.