Kevin Hogan (Page, National Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

About four weeks ago, I joyfully took on the position of ambassador for a disability jobs drive in my community. The aim of this disability jobs drive was to offer 50 jobs in 30 days to people in my community of Page. It was coordinated by the Department of Employment, by Terry Watson and Christine Williams, who were ably helped out by the local chambers of commerce, including the local New South Wales business chamber head John Murray. I will give a preliminary finding of the jobs drive. The goal to get 50 jobs in 30 days for people with disability seems to be a success. At the moment, we have 93 job offers in the community and 27 have already been given placements as of last Friday. We are very confident that by Friday we will have more than 50. When I was approached to be ambassador of this project, I immediately said yes, not simply out of a sense of social justice but also because it is of real value to business and our local community. Businesses cannot afford to miss any opportunity to develop their workforces and increase their competitive advantage. I thank all the local businesses in our community who have offered these jobs. They have seen that people with disabilities are an important part of our community and can be of great value to their businesses, and I thank them for their support.