Government wasted no time getting the wheels in motion to move its first bill through the House of Assembly.

Government House Leader Lloyd Parrott introduced a bill to establish a disabilities advocate shortly after the throne speech.

Premier Tony Wakeham says given the number of people who have a disability in this province, they felt establishing an advocate was a priority.

“We campaigned on the fact that we would be setting up a Disabilities Advocate’s Office and that’s exactly what we’re going to do. We felt it was a priority,” he told reporters.

“When you hear the stats that 30 per cent of the people of Newfoundland are people with some type of disability, this was an important piece of legislation and that’s why we wanted to get it on the books first.”

The bill is slated for second reading later today.