Wednesday, 1 November 2023

 Belinda WILSON (Narre Warren North) (09:45): Last week I joined the wonderful member for Laverton, who invited me to journey across the west to a very special organisation. Fruit2Work does incredible work, delivering fruit, milk, tea and coffee to customers around Melbourne, Geelong and Ballarat, but they also make a difference as a not-for-profit social enterprise and charity, offering meaningful employment opportunities for people who have been impacted by the justice system, often working with people who have been in prison or who have a criminal record. The organisation prioritises creating chances for their team to gain important skills and experience to reset their lives and return to society as contributing members. The Fruit2Work program focuses on squashing the chances of reoffending. Their commitment to transitional employment has proven to be very special in getting their employees’ lives back on track.

We had a wonderful tour of the facility at Laverton, and we were also joined by the Minister for Youth Justice in the other place. It was really great to meet Rob, Simon and Linda to hear their incredible stories and hear how the business has grown over the past couple of years. The exciting thing is, though, that they are coming to my patch in Hallam. I cannot wait to work with Fruit2Work over in my patch and see how they will make a difference in the south-east, just like they have done in the west. Thank you so much to the member for Laverton for inviting me out to see this amazing organisation at work.