Julian Leeser (Berowra, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I visited the Northcott office in Hornsby on 2 May to see their efforts in preparing people with disability for work, especially young people with disability in the electorate. I want to acknowledge Deenie Adams, the area manager of northern Sydney, Kiran Lodhia, the centre based coordinator in Hornsby, and the customers of Northcott Hornsby. Northcott is one of the largest disability not-for-profit organisations in the country. It was established in 1929 by the Rotary Club of Sydney as the New South Wales Society for Crippled Children in response to the global polio epidemic. Northcott has now grown to employ almost 1,000 staff across Australia, providing personalised services to over 13,500 people with a disability, their families and carers each year.

Northcott provides a range of services to people of all ages living with disability, including assisting in forming closer connections with the community, living independently, everyday life skills, vocational skills training and employment services. During my visit to Northcott, customers and staff raised the difficulty in finding employers willing to take them on as the biggest issue they face. Some customers shared stories of not being taken seriously and showing up for multiple job interviews only to have managers absent or unavailable. I think some of these risk-averse employers fear accusations of discrimination or costs associated with hiring a person with disability, or they might be simply embarrassed to ask questions about what is involved. But they should know that the Northcott customers that I met want to work.

Hornsby Northcott is working to address this issue by hosting networking events to introduce Northcott customers to local employers, increasing their employment opportunities by showcasing their individual skills. They are hosting an employer networking evening on Wednesday, 24 May at Asquith Magpies in Waitara. They asked their customers what sort of work they would like to do and then invited 200 employers to participate in the program. Sadly, only four out of 200 employers have agreed to attend the networking event. Four is clearly not enough. I want to commend the four businesses that are showing up: Ecovis Clark Jacobs, Bushlink, CNS Precision Assembly and Wesley Mission. I will be visiting one of these companies—CNS Precision Assembly—in Hornsby in my electorate next month. CNS Precision Assembly currently employs 30 staff, 16 of whom have a disability. Olly Collins from CNS remarked that people with disabilities are some of the hardest working employees that you will find. We need more employers willing to give people with disabilities a chance. Our government, in this budget, committed to fully funding the NDIS, which will directly benefit over 2,000 people living with disabilities in my electorate. Northcott's customers will be able to access services in the Hornsby area, including after-school programs, sport and recreation camps, and transition to retirement. I commend Northcott for the incredible work they do for our community.