Louise Markus (Macquarie, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Recently I had the pleasure of attending the official opening of the Great Blue Mountains Trail at Medlow Bath. The extension and upgrade of the 13.2-kilometre trail was made possible under round 2 of the government's Regional Development Australia Fund. The important project was also achieved through the hard work of 10 people who were involved in the project for six months under the Work for the Dole program. The federal government contributed $500,000 and the Blue Mountains City Council contributed $60,000 to the trail, which will provide safe cycling facilities and a safe walking track connecting residents and tourists. The trail links the smaller towns of Blackheath and Medlow Bath to Katoomba and provides a corridor for the natural, beautiful bushland and of course our precious flora and fauna.

It was great to hear that two of the participants have secured full-time work from the experience. It shows how programs such as these can be of huge benefit to the community through the upgrade or creation of infrastructure and facilities while providing experience and opportunities for those involved. I had the pleasure of speaking with a couple of Work for the Dole program participants at the opening, and they made it clear that they felt they had succeeded. They were proud of what they had achieved, and they said that taking part in the project had given them motivation and confidence and they felt they were a step closer to securing work. The government's Work for the Dole program will deliver $18 million over four years to assist around 6,000 job seekers annually.