It was great to catch up with local members Sharon Bird and Stephen Jones at The BuyAbility Parliament House Breakfast designed to enhance access to goods and services provided by Disability Enterprises like The Disability Trust’s – lawn and garden maintenance service Illawarra Vocational Services (IVS).
Matthew Martin, Chris Duffus and Roger McCoy from The Disability Trust met up with 30 MPs and more than 160 Disability Enterprise representatives like our good friends at Greenacres and Flagstaff.
Assistant Minister for Social Services and Disability Services The Hon. Jane Prentice MP, announced $700,000 to expand the BuyAbility website. "This commitment is part of the Australian Government's aim to improve the lives of people with disability through quality-supported employment in ADEs," she said.
"It is wonderful to see organisations benefiting from the enormous contribution people with disability are bringing to their business by focusing on what people can do, their strengths and capabilities."
NDS Chief Executive Ken Baker said, "We're here to celebrate the value of supported employment. 190 not-for-profit Disability Enterprises employ almost 21,000 people with disability who otherwise would be excluded from work. They work in many areas; packaging, horticulture, light manufacturing, printing, furniture assembly, grounds maintenance, cleaning and more."
Ken highlighted the current uncertainties for Disability Enterprises, with the Award review. In light of this he said, "We are committed to working with government to ensure a sustainable disability enterprise sector that continues to provide great life outcomes for people with disability."
If you would like to show your support for local Disability Enterprises you can join us at the My Job Counts Rally on Tuesday 26th September at 12.15pm at Crown Street Mall, Wollongong.
