Page 2882 - Week 07 - Wednesday, 29 June 2011
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Ink at the Woden library, Ronnie’s Succulent Snails run by Ronnie Lawrence, with the support of his wonderful mother, Mirinda, and other businesses that are supported here.
My experience of social enterprise has come about through the area of mental health, as the social firm model has become very well established in creating employment opportunities for people with a mental illness. The earlier example I noted of the social firm model originating in Italy largely centred on the city of Trieste where they established highly successful business opportunities primarily in hospitality. And that was primarily for people with a mental illness.
Specific groups in Australia such as Social Firms Australia have established employment opportunities for people with a mental illness. Social Firms is a not-for-profit organisation that creates accessible employment for people with a disability and recognises the important role that employment plays in social inclusion. They have a workplace support team which consists of experienced professionals, including occupational therapists, psychologists and consumer advocates, who are committed to developing supportive workplaces for people with a mental illness. The workplace team delivers evidenced-based support programs and is engaged in a range of innovative research projects.
One of the case studies from Social Firms Australia is Cleanable, which is a successful cleaning business operating as a social firm. Cleanable was established in 2005 by Westgate Community Initiatives Group in partnership with Social Firms Australia and Social Ventures Australia. And Cleanable is a highly professional and sustainable business offering competitive rates. Cleanable operates at 17 sites across Melbourne and employs over 15 people with a mental illness. I use this example as social ventures are very much about creating supportive work environments, which include appropriate support services, but are also competitive businesses. I will restate the position: they are competitive businesses. We can build on the businesses that have already been supported in the ACT and create many other meaningful employment opportunities for people with a disability and people who are disadvantaged.
In regard to creating the demonstration projects—and this is one of the key issues in Ms Hunter’s motion; Mrs Dunne has said it is a nothing motion—these demonstration projects are very important. This is an issue which has been brought to us by Social Ventures Australia themselves, who are the experts in this, wanting to have these projects established because they create an opportunity for these businesses to be sustainable but also to generate an income. And it is that very issue of demonstrating to the community that social enterprises can and do work, and that they are competitive, which is so important.
I note again, as I did, that social procurement is not a new concept. This is something which is used in the Brisbane, Ipswich and Logan city councils and through the Victorian government. There are also numerous examples overseas. This is about creating economic and employment opportunities for people with a disability or who are disadvantaged, through a competitive business process. It creates jobs for people who may not be able to enter the employment market through other means, while
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