John McVeigh (Groom, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Taylor's Removals started in Toowoomba in 1918. It was started by WG Taylor with his horse and dray, transporting goods to and from the Toowoomba railhead. It was the equivalent of what these days we would call a significant intermodal freight terminal. One hundred years later, the company has a fleet of well over 25 vehicles, more than 20 employees and two significant warehouses. Importantly, it is under the leadership and guidance of managing director Melissa Taylor, the first female in four generations to join her family business. Melissa and her father, Ray, are good friends of mine. It's impressive to see her continuing the Taylor ethos of hard work and service to one's community. She's focused on youth and female career development in general and specifically on the opportunity for her own employees to complete qualifications in their chosen roles. She is a strong supporter of our local arts and community organisations and is the Queensland Trucking Association's 2015 Trucking Woman of the Year. In 2015, Taylor's was also inducted into the Heritage Bank Business Excellence Awards hall of fame by the Toowoomba Chamber of Commerce. It's small and medium businesses like this that we need to continue to support to grow our economy and job opportunities, especially in regional Australia. I'm certainly proud to be a friend of the Taylors and to be part of the Morrison government's focus on doing just that—growing our economy and job opportunities, especially in regional areas.