ANDREW LEIGH, MEMBER FOR FENNER: Thank you everyone for coming along today. My name is Andrew Leigh, the Federal Member for Fenner and proud representative of this part of Belconnen in the ACT, where we are today. Really delighted to be here to celebrate the one year anniversary of Parent Pathways, alongside my extraordinary colleagues, Amanda Rishworth and Patrick Gorman. This is a program which works with young mums and occasionally young dads in helping them find their way through employment and training. It is a program which engages with people on a voluntary basis, and therefore has seen some terrific successes. I am pleased to hand over now to Amanda Rishworth, who will then hand over to a range of the mentors and participants to tell us their stories.
AMANDA RISHWORTH, MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS: Thank you Andrew, and it is absolutely wonderful to be here today as we celebrate one year of Parent Pathways. When our Government was elected, we listened very carefully to parents who were saying the old ParentsNext program was not working for them, and so we redesigned the program to make sure it met parents' needs. Firstly, parents complained that it was very compliance driven and not about relationships. And so we made sure that this program went from compulsory to voluntary. But more than that, we actually started working with parents about making sure the support we were putting together was actually what they wanted to do, had their goals in mind and their support. So there is a much bigger focus in the new program on pre-employment stages and steps that a parent might want to take. There is an amount of money for investment in breaking down some of those barriers. Hearing what some of the parents are using that for - including getting their driver's licence, so they can get to jobs - has been really special. We have seen real interest in this new program far exceeding expectations, with 27,000 parents across the country taking up the opportunity. This is really exciting, we always want to get the message out about what a great opportunity and great product and service this is. That is some of the work that Assistant Minister Gorman is doing. I am going to hand over to Assistant Minister Gorman now to say a few words.
PATRICK GORMAN, ASSISTANT MINISTER FOR EMPLOYMENT AND WORKPLACE RELATIONS: Thank you so much, Minister Amanda Rishworth, and it is great to be here with you, with our colleague Andrew Leigh in his community, and with the families who are benefiting from this Parent Pathways program. We are celebrating the one year anniversary of this program that, as the Minister just said, has delivered for some 27,000 parents around Australia. Because what we want to do is make sure that we are giving all the supports that parents with children in those early years need, so they can meet their goals and set up a life for them and their families. We have had some 9,000 parents go through this program and then enter into education so they can get the skills they need to get back into the workforce. And we have seen some 900 parents leave the program because they have gone into the workforce, and that is just in the first year. We are seeing some really excellent success from this program, and we know there is more to do. The parents I have met with continuously tell us that it is helping them deliver their goals. They find it a really respectful program that listens to them, and allows them to tailor to their specific needs. We are really proud of what the Albanese Government has delivered through the Parent Pathways program, and we are really proud of the success stories - of parents achieving their goals and supporting their little ones at the same time. In that vein, I am going to pass over to Blessy, a parent who has benefited from this program and might be joined by Freddy, who's thoroughly enjoying all of the new friends he's got to play with. So come and tell us a little bit about how it has benefited you.
BLESSY, PARENT PATHWAYS PARTICIPANT: I am Blessy. My background is in IT and I always wanted to work in cyber security. I started to study in 2023 cyber security IT, but in semester two I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was a big shock, and Freddy was just six months at that time. So I had to stop all my routine. I had treatment last year, I just finished my complete treatment this year in January. I was wanting to go back to what my dream was. So I was thinking it was really hard for me, having a rough time health wise and mentally. I was not strong, and financially I was also thinking what to do to achieve my goal. So Parent Pathways is a game changer. When I first met the team, they were wonderful. They listened to me without any judgement. They guided me. I really appreciate it. So I started to study again, I am halfway through now, I hope I'll finish soon. I got lot of benefit from financial help [inaudible] and so I hope I'll finish my study. Thank you.
KARLEY, PARENT PATHWAYS MENTOR: Hello my name is Karley, and I am currently a mentor for Parent Pathways, but I have also been a participant in Parent Pathways as well. So I joined the Sureway team back in February and previous to that, I was actually a ParentsNext consultant, then we were made redundant. Back in January I reached out to Parent Pathways, hoping to get some kind of assistance, and I was fortunate enough to be invited for a second interview, as I'd had a previous interview back in November. It was very successful, and I walked straight into the team. It has been wonderful. They have supported me with my young son, because I'm a solo mum. I have two teenagers and a toddler, and my youngest one is an absolute handful. So it has been really wonderful that they have been able to support me there. My mentor that I was connected with has helped me enrol into some community services as I have lived experience with domestic violence, and I just really wanted to upskill in that area so that I could be the mentor that I wish I had when I needed it. I am very grateful to be a part of Parent Pathways, and I love being able to support my participants with reaching their goals.