Karen Chijoff was joined by Senator Marise Payne on Tuesday, 30 October, on  a visit to local business, 5 Star Roofing in Penrith to discuss the Work Skills Voucher policy.

The Howard Government has a plan to achieve a goal of 3 per cent unemployment over the next three years.

One part of this plan is to give those people who did not complete Year 12 or who have been out of the workforce for a long period of time the opportunity to retrain and improve their skills.

To do this, the Howard Government has introduced a $3,000 Work Skills Voucher, which people aged 25 and over who have not completed Year 12 can use to improve their skills.

As a result, at least 60,000 people every year will be able to have a better future.

The plan is a gateway into a job or a better job for many Australians and will help ensure they share in Australia’s growing prosperity.

“A strong economy and good management enables us to implement policies that further improve work opportunities and secure Australia’s future,” Karen said.

Karen Chijoff and Jackie Kelly welcomed Health Minister Tony Abbott to Colyton on Monday, September 10th. Mr Abbott announced that the Commonwealth Government will be providing up to $600,000 over three years for a new mobile after-hours medical service in Western Sydney.

The service, operated by Family Care Medical Services (FCMS), will make after-hours house calls available for the first time in much of Western Sydney. It will operate overnight and at all other times outside business hours, including public holidays.

After-hours calls to GP practices which subscribe to the service will be switched through to a call centre which will assess patients' needs using a triage system. Patients may be referred to an ambulance service, to existing after-hours clinics at the Windsor and Nepean Hospitals, or to this new service where a doctor on duty will visit the patient's home.

FCMS has long experience providing medical deputising services in south-eastern Queensland and in Northern Sydney.

Karen Chijoff and Jackie Kelly have been lobbying Mr Abbott for this service to be made available to Lindsay residents.

"After-hours house calls will be so much more convenient for families with sick children" Karen Chijoff said, "This is a great win for Western Sydney."

The FCMS service will cover Sydney's north-western and western growth corridors, including Castle Hill, Wilberforce, Blaxland and the Great Western Highway. This is the second fastest growing area in NSW and the population of about 450,000 includes a large number of young families.

Funding will come from the Government's Round the Clock Medicare initative. Since 2005, more than 140 after-hours medical services around Australia have recieved grants of $62.5 million over five years.

Parliamentary secretary to the Minister for Education and Spokesperson for Western Sydney , The Hon Pat Farmer visited Lindsay to announce a new Technical College in Greater Penrith.

Karen Chijoff and Jackie Kelly welcomed Mr Farmer to Penrith to make the announcement and visit apprentices in the area.

The new Technical College will take students from the Blue Mountains, Penrith and Campbelltown and will offer apprenticeships in:

Automotive Trades
- Panel Beating
- Spray Painting
- Auto Electrical
- Auto Engineering
Metal Trades
Electrical Trades

It is expected that the college will have 300 students enrolled per year, and on completion of the two year course students will have already begun their trade whilst completing the HSC.

Mr Farmer acknowledged the hard work of Karen Chijoff and Jackie Kelly to establish the college.

“This is a win for Western Sydney and a win for Lindsay . We are investing in our youth and in our future,” Karen Chijoff said.

4 local projects will share in $20 million in funding from the Federal Government under the Stronger Families and Communities Stratergy Local Answers Initiative.

Karen Chijoff with Jackie Kelly welcomed The Honourable Mal Brough on Tuesday, 28 August 2007, who announced the funding.

The local projects:

• Werrington Community Project Inc- "Strengthening Communities in Kingswood   Park and Kingswood " received $219,574. This organisation is dedicated to supporting vulnerable families through education and resources for parenting.

• Uniting Church in Australia Property Trust NSW- "St Marys Integrated Child and Family Centre" received $152,787. This centre is aimed at helping the development of families. Some of their activities include aiding young mothers in continuing the education and teaching parenting classes.

• North St Marys Neighbourhood Centre Inc- "Now What? Young Fathers Program" received $77,741. This program is aimed at teaching young fathers the importance of healthy relationships and essential parenting skills.

• Dads in Distress Incorporated- "DIDS Western Sydney Expansion Project-NSW" received $210,780.  DIDS is an organisation who is dedicated to preventing the suicide of fathers suffering from the stress of recent divorce or separation.

 "This funding will be of great benefit to these organisations and the local families which they support. This is evidence of the Howard Government's commitment to supporting Australian families" Karen Chijoff said.