FINDING WORKABLE SOLUTIONS

The Hon. G.A. KANDELAARS (15:06): My question is to the Minister for Disabilities. Will the minister provide this place with information on his recent visit to Finding Workable Solutions, an innovative and award-winning disability employment service in Murray Bridge?

The Hon. I.K. HUNTER (Minister for Communities and Social Inclusion, Minister for Social Housing, Minister for Disabilities, Minister for Youth, Minister for Volunteers) (15:06): I thank the honourable member for his question and for his ongoing interest in this portfolio area. In January this year I had the great pleasure of visiting the Murray Mallee region, where I visited a number of service providers and not-for-profit organisations, including an NGO called Finding Workable Solutions, based in Murray Bridge.

I was extremely impressed by the innovative approach used by Finding Workable Solutions in providing meaningful employment opportunities to people living with disabilities. Through its award-winning Salvage & Save program, not only has it created jobs for people of varying ability but they are also diverting items from landfill. I first heard about the Salvage & Save program when I attended the National Disability Services Innovative Practice Awards last year. Indeed, I think the Hon. Kelly Vincent was there with me.

Finding Workable Solutions was awarded a high commendation for their Salvage & Save operation. I was so impressed by the small amount that I learnt about the program at that time, at the award ceremony, that I arranged to visit Murray Bridge to see this successful program in action. The Salvage & Save program encourages local communities to donate unwanted goods which are then recycled and sold back into the community through a low-cost retail shop. Electrical goods, furniture, building materials, whitegoods, garden equipment and bric-a-brac are just some of the items that are salvaged, cleaned up and then made available for purchase.

People living with disability can participate in the Salvage & Save project on a number of levels, including voluntary work at the outlet, work experience, traineeships, return-to-work programs, skills and career development, and permanent part-time or full-time employment. Finding Workable Solutions has three sites that run this recycling program—Murray Bridge, Hahndorf and Goolwa. The local communities come together to support the program, with private companies, NGOs and government agencies working together to support this very important initiative.

I was very impressed by the collaborative approach of the wider Murray Bridge community, which is working together to ensure the ongoing success of this initiative. I would like to congratulate the chief executive Adrian Pitt and his team for recognising the future growth of recycling and waste management and for harnessing this potential to deliver meaningful employment for people with varying abilities.