Wednesday, 14 August 2024

 Enver ERDOGAN (Northern Metropolitan – Minister for Corrections, Minister for Youth Justice, Minister for Victim Support) (12:14): Stable employment after leaving prison is one of the most important factors in helping people to turn their lives around and stay out of prison for good. That is why the Allan Labor government is delivering vocational education and employment programs right across our corrections system. I had the pleasure of visiting Fulham prison in Gippsland last week to celebrate one such program called Cows Create Careers. This innovative program connects minimum security prisoners nearing the end of their sentence with local dairy industry professionals to learn the skills they need to work in Victoria’s dairy industry. During the program people in custody care for two young dairy calves under the supervision of local vets and farmers. In this program the calves live in specially designed facilities on the prison grounds, and I understand that the facilities were built by those men in custody and assembled also. In this program they learn real-world skills that will assist with employment in the community.

This is not just good news for people in custody but also for our nation-leading dairy industry. A fun fact of the day: over 60 per cent of our nation’s dairy comes from Victoria. This means that people will be job ready upon leaving prison and also will be willing to help build Victoria’s dairy workforce. This program is proudly a Gippsland innovation. Starting off as a local school program –

Members interjecting.

Enver ERDOGAN: I will take the interjection. It has been around for over 20 years, but this is the first time it will be rolled out in a prison setting. And now with the generous support of GippsDairy and the Gardiner Foundation, it will be at Fulham. I want to thank our partners as well. This program is the first of its kind, and it is fitting that Fulham prison in Gippsland has grabbed the bull by the horns. It was an honour to see the program in action last week and to congratulate the participants. Programs like Cows Create Careers are proof of our commitment to giving people in custody –

Katherine Copsey: On a point of order, Deputy President, I am sorry to interrupt the minister, but I am sitting next to him and I cannot hear him, so I was wondering if you could ask the house to return to order.

The DEPUTY PRESIDENT: The minister to continue without assistance, please.

Enver ERDOGAN: It was an honour to see the program in action last week and to congratulate the participants. Programs like Cows Create Careers are proof of our commitment to giving people in custody the tools they need to turn their lives around.