Monday, 22 June 2026

Federation Chamber

Mr Tim Wilson MP: Deputy Speaker, I also want to acknowledge the important work that's being done by local residents to ensure young Australians with a disability have a pathway to employment. Every young person deserves the chance to participate, contribute and thrive within their community. Recently, we had a Bayside young persons with disabilities roundtable hosted in the Goldstein office that brought together the Bayside City Council and local employers—such as the All Things Equal cafe, AusPV, Sports Conscious, Brighton Paper, Joe Tea Drinks, Buxton Brighton, MATCH and DFP Recruitment—along with the disability advocates and community organisations, and Sandy Village Traders Association, to focus on one question: how do we remove barriers and expand opportunity for young Australians with a disability to improve employment opportunities? I want to particularly thank Emily Higgins for her leadership in spearheading this initiative and bringing people together to share experiences, challenge assumptions and identify practical solutions. The roundtable reinforced that inclusion requires employers, governments, advocates and communities to work together to create pathways to employment, participation and independence, and I really want to stress that last point: independence.

The future belongs to young people who are empowered to pursue their goals with confidence. Our job is to ensure every person has that opportunity by giving them a pathway to be able to secure employment, to be able to go on and live an independent life and to be able to go on and live their best life. It's not just what we want for people with a disability; it's what we want for every Australian, and this important step by Emily Higgins and all those who participated is part of it. We wish Bayside council well, in particular, for continuing to lead it.