Ian Macfarlane (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Firstly I wish to acknowledge and thank all of those who have served and some who have made the ultimate sacrifice for the freedom that we enjoy in this country. It is befitting that this House was suspended today in remembrance of the great sacrifices, particularly of the First World War. Those of us who have travelled through regional areas are more than aware of the toll that it took in regional and rural communities where some of their best and bravest did not return from those battles.

I also wanted to speak today about a new innovation that is occurring in Toowoomba: the Vanguard Laundry. Vanguard Laundry is not going to be any ordinary laundry. Apart from being highly sterile and perfectly able to handle all sorts of medical waste and laundry, it is going to be manned by people with a mental disability. The clubhouse in Toowoomba run by Luke Terry has promoted this idea. They have put forward a proposal which is currently under consideration by this government, but it has already attracted almost $1 million in support from the local community. This is the sort of thing that Australia should do more of: find opportunities for people with mental disabilities to be able to make a contribution, not just to hold stop start signs on roads, but to actually work in industries where they are making a contribution to the economy.