Susan Templeman (Macquarie, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Last Saturday, Hotel Etico CEO and co-founder Andrea Comastri finished a 400-kilometre, 13-day run right here at Parliament House. I was among those who waved Andrea off from Mount Victoria on Sunday 8 March as he began the Long Run to Inclusion. The mission was to connect Hotel Etico's original home in Mount Victoria, which I officially opened in 2022, with their two new academies of independence, in Leura and Canberra. Hotel Etico is a multi-award-winning, not-for-profit, social enterprise hotel—the first in Australia—and a trusted industry partner in tourism and hospitality. Their innovative model lets young people with disability work alongside hospitality professionals to build skills, confidence and real-world experience that supports their transition into open employment. Since it began, Hotel Etico has employed and trained 50 young people, with 86 per cent of its graduates gaining secure, ongoing employment in the tourism and hospitality industry.

Their run wasn't all easy, but they arrived in Canberra on World Down Syndrome Day, dancing on the front lawn and finally finishing in the rain at the Mercure Canberra, the site of their new academy of independence. I congratulate them and thank them for their ongoing dedication to inclusion.