Legislative Council - Fifty-Third Parliament, First Session (53-1)
2014-09-23 Daily Xml

Contents

Disability Employment

The Hon. K.L. VINCENT (15:07): I have a supplementary question. Given that the government has failed to meet its target at this time, when does it plan to meet it next? Can the minister elaborate on the reasons as to why the government failed to meet this target? Why has public sector employment of people with disabilities not only failed to meet its target but has actually gone backwards in recent times?

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Employment, Higher Education and Skills, Minister for Science and Information Economy, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for Business Services and Consumers) (15:08): I thank the honourable member for her question. I stress that the target is set for 2020 so we have not failed to achieve the target but, as I indicated, if we are tracking on the current rates of engagement then we are unlikely to achieve it. However, as I have said, we have initiated a number of programs that we have put in place that will improve our performance in this area and we remain committed to achieving that target.