I am pleased to announce that Telstra has won the National Corporation category in the 2003 Prime Minister's Employer of the Year Awards for its strong and innovative commitment towards employing people with disabilities.
All winners were announced tonight by the Minister for Family and Community Services, Senator Kay Patterson, and the Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations, Kevin Andrews, before more than 650 guests at Parliament House, Canberra.
Telstra was recognised for its commitment to providing genuine employment opportunities and career advancement for people with disabilities, and particularly for its partnership with Mental Illness Fellowship Victoria. Telstra is an active advocate for the employment of people with disabilities.
The winner of the National Small Business in this year's Awards is Benbro Electronics. Benbro was also the NSW Small Business category winner. This is the second success for this Brookvale, Sydney-based business as it was a national winner in 1998.
The National Medium Business category winner is HM Gem Engines. HM/Gem Engines was the Victorian Medium Business winner. Based in Dandenong, the company also won this category in 2000.
Wideline Pty Ltd of Wyong, on the NSW Central Coast, is the National Large Business winner. It has been manufacturing timber and aluminium windows and doors for domestic and commercial use for more than 32 years. Since it opened its doors for business, it has grown from a staff of 10 to an employer of more than 220, including 12 people with disabilities.
The University of Western Australia has again been honoured in the Higher Education category of the Awards, demonstrating for the second consecutive year a strong commitment to employing people with disabilities.
Winners in the Government Agency categories were Brisbane City Council (Local Government), Queensland Department of Education (State or Territory agency) and Centrelink (Australian Government agency).
I congratulate the winners from each state and territory and all those businesses that nominated as they all make a difference to our society by employing people with disabilities.
I am encouraged that over 350 nominations were received from around Australia this year, up from 231 nominations in 2002. This is evidence that the Awards, which have been running for over a decade now, continue to grow in popularity.
Through these Awards we hear many uplifting examples of the benefits to business, individuals and communities by simply giving people a fair go - it makes good business sense, and more importantly, it is the Australian way.
This year's Awards have been supported by a number of sponsors including, Telstra, Qantas, IBM, RG Capital Radio Limited and the Crowne Plaza, Canberra.