Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party) Share this | Hansard source

How good is Townsville? The work of the Endeavour Foundation in Townsville is absolutely incredible and I want to pay tribute to this amazing organisation today. A few weeks ago I had the privilege of visiting the foundation's Townsville factory, where old TVs are pulled apart and components reused, old clothing is made into cleaning rags, and confidential documents from the city's businesses are shredded. Working extremely hard at all this work are people with various levels of intellectual disabilities. They are clearly very able to carry out these tasks—and they even made fun of me, as I found some of the tasks quite challenging. I was met by two legends—John and Doug—who were to be my guides for the tour. You could tell from their enthusiasm and the smiles on their faces that they were extremely proud of what they achieve from day to day. I have to say it was probably the happiest workplace I have ever visited, second to this one.

The Endeavour Foundation's supported employment program is clearly worth its weight in gold. I'm a big believer in meaningful engagement and meaningful employment and what the Endeavour Foundation is doing here. I also met with family members. They came in to meet me and spoke about how good it was for their relatives to be out there working and doing things within the community.

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