It was encouraging to see the Federal Government revive the National Cabinet this week to address the issues with the vaccine rollout, bringing the states and territories together to find the best path forward.

The countdown is on to our Victoria Summit Vision Day! Today we officially launched our first major Summit event coming up on 28 May where attendees will come together to map out a bold new vision for Victoria.

It is the Victorian Chamber’s goal to make Victoria the best place in Australia to live, work, learn, and operate a business. Our message is simple - business is not only the engine room of the economy, they’re also the heart of our communities.

I know this is a tough time for many of you who will feel shattered by the extension of the fourth lockdown Victoria has endured since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

The business community in Regional Victoria will be relieved today to hear the news of a further easing of restrictions. There is also good news that essentially every business in the state can now operate. But for some larger metropolitan events, hospitality and entertainment venues, the easing of restrictions have not gone far enough, and we still have a difference in settings between Regional and Metropolitan areas.

Lockdown Four, and the COVID-19 situations around the country in Queensland, New South Wales, Northern Territory and Western Australia, have shown us that the pandemic is far from over.  

It was only last week that we were reminded of the beginning of a 112-day lockdown here in Victoria last year and we desperately hope we don’t find ourselves in a similar situation again.

Today Victorian business can get back to what you do best. It was good news we can now begin our exit from Lockdown Five and move faster than when we exited Lockdown Four.

It was mixed news for the business community this week with Regional Victoria freed from Lockdown Six but Metropolitan Victoria required to stay in lockdown for another seven days.

Lockdowns. We’ve had a few. And there will probably be a few more before we are done. Like them or not, it’s the agreed weapon of choice to combat COVID-19 until vaccination rates get to 80 per cent. They have worked to effectively stop the spread.  

As want for personal transport puts pressure on our roads, coupled with a shift to electric vehicles, Transurban’s latest report reveals our acceleration toward a transportation renaissance.

I felt a shift in the fight against COVID-19 this week when Prime Minister Scott Morrison remarked, “this Groundhog Day has to end”. I couldn’t agree more!

Well, there was a welcome shifting of narrative late last week, and we are now clearly focused on a vaccination-based opening. The past week has been tough, but there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Sunday was not the news we wanted. The roadmap fell short: short of hope, short of NSW and short of where we need to be moving to as a state.

I had a close friend message me from London on the weekend, as he sat comfortably in a coffee shop on Regent Street.

Businesses and workers have sacrificed, suffered and done their bit to protect us all from COVID-19. They stayed closed, in some cases without work, pivoted their services to keep Victorians employed and many lost what they had spent years building. Businesses across the State are in crisis.