The papers contained in this document represent the keynote addresses, refereed and non-refereed conference papers from the 21st National Conference of the Society for the Provision of Education in Rural Australia (SPERA). The theme for this national annual conference was: Our Stories: Innovation and Excellence in Rural Education. Keynote addresses in these proceedings include: (1) Creating Collaborative Communities--The Regional South Australian Experience (Steven Arndt); (2) Local versus Global Knowledges: A Fundamental Dilemma in "Remote Education" (Michael Christie); (3) C.R.E.A.T.E.--Creating Rural Entrepreneurial Attitudes through Education (Peter Kenyon); and (4) IDL--Interactive Distance Learning in the Northern Territory (Tony Richards). Refereed papers include: (5) Designing a Course in Pre-Service Rural Education (Colin Boylan); (6) Summer School at a Regional University Campus: Just Completing a Course, or a Rich Learning Experience? (Bronwyn Ellis, Digby Wilson, and Janet Sawyer); (7) Remote Rural Practice Teaching (Ted Munsch and Colin R. Boylan); (8) Creative Teaching Solutions in Difficult Remote Practice Realities (Joy Penman); (9) Local Matters: Regions, Innovation and Vocational Education and Training in the Australian Context (Richard Pickersgill); (10) Bringing Doctors to the Bush: Celebrating Innovation and Excellence in Medical Education at the University of New South Wales' School of Rural Health (Peter Rushbrook, Louis Pilotto, Sandy Reid, Geraldine Duncan, Graeme Richardson, Peter Vine, Peter Reed, and Helena Johnston). Non-refereed papers include: (11) Diamonds form under Pressure: Educational Evolution & Revolution on the West Coast of Tasmania (Neville Barnard); (12) Bringing Educational Change across the Pilbara (Don Boyd and Emmy Terry); (13) Aboriginal Focus in New Courses for Students in the Senior Years of Schooling Course (Kerry Boyd); (14) Rural Schools: Argentina and Australia (Hernan Cuervo); (15) Raising Student Achievement in Rural Schools--A School Adviser's Perspective (Darryn Gray and Kevin O'Hara); (16) Rural Teacher Education Forum Mapping of Pre-Service Country Teaching Programs (John Halsey); (17) The Pilbara Education District of Western Australia (Craig Holland and Rosa Lincoln); (18) Digital Reporting in the Bush (Lyn Hollow); (19) Innovations in VET Programs (Liz Kelly); (20) Aboriginal Literacy Strategy (Rosa Lincoln and Sue Knight); (21) Innovation with Centra Symposium: A Local Delivery Perspective (Enver Malkic); (22) Interagency Support Networking for Mental Health (Alan Power); (23) What Does a Successful Staffing System for Rural, Remote and Isolated Schools Look Like? (Phil Roberts and Dorothy Lean); (24) Teacher Orientation Package (Rebecca Tims); (25) Wakakiri (Jenna Towers); (26) Aboriginal Literacy Strategy: A Systemic Approach to Improving Literacy and Numeracy in Remote Schools (Vince Vesnaver); and (27) Professional Development and Recruitment of New Teachers to Rural Settings (Simone White). Individual papers contain references. [Abstract has been modified to meet ERIC guidelines. For the Proceedings of the 22nd SPERA conference (July 2006), see ED493484.]