Happy New Year! I hope you all had a fantastic Christmas and New Year’s with your families and friends and that at least some of you got to enjoy a break. We know this is a busy time for many businesses and we are grateful for your ongoing hard work during the holiday period.

New laws banning problematic single-use plastics from sale or supply in Victoria come into effect from Wednesday, 1 February.

As Acting Chief Executive, it’s exciting to see so many people getting out and about across Victoria as the summer weather provides the perfect conditions for lapping up what we love about this great state. Many Victorians are returning to work while others are taking an extended break at our tourist hot spots, enjoying the Australian Open, the Lunar New Year and a myriad of other events.

It’s great to be back after a break enjoying Regional Victoria and thank you to Chanelle, Scott and the team for doing such a fantastic job while I was away. It has already been a big week as school holidays finish and students head back to the classroom. No doubt there’s been a few tears shed by parents of those children starting school and even some tears of joy for parents of those returning!

Well, it seems we are going to have to get used to interest rates continuing to rise if this weeks commentary is anything to go by. I’m sure you all felt the impact of the latest interest rate rise in some way. It’s another cost increase that will hit most businesses either directly or indirectly via the potential decline in consumer spending.

I’ve spent a large part of the last week engaging with various stakeholders including Victorian Government Ministers and our members about the rising costs involved with running a business, escalating electricity and gas prices, and what the road to net zero looks like.

I’ve been asked to address a number of different forums in recent weeks to give the Chamber’s view on the outlook for business for 2023 and the role of business in driving economic growth.

The Victorian Government’s Circular Economy Business Innovation Centre (CEBIC) has launched for more than $4.8 million in funding to stimulate innovation and commercialisation of circular solutions.

A new Victorian Chamber survey has revealed most businesses are increasingly concerned about the impact of energy prices and want Government support on long-term solutions to reach a net-zero economy.

There goes summer for another year. Not quite the warm weather we had hoped for, but we look ahead to what autumn brings, particularly with the Moomba Festival, AFL Season, Grand Prix, and the highly anticipated opening of “& Juliet” not far away.

Victoria’s peak business and industry body is advocating for the 2023-24 State Budget to provide targeted support to enable business to play a pivotal role in driving Victoria’s economic growth.

The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has released its 2023-24 State Budget submission, putting forward 68 recommendations to boost jobs and investment around energy, tax, regulation, skills and training, infrastructure, manufacturing, transport, major events and Victoria’s regions.

In a major $2.35 billion energy announcement on Tuesday, Victoria was chosen as preferred location for the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain (HESC) project – a collaboration involving the Japanese, Australian and Victorian Governments.

Today we celebrate International Women’s Day, a global event that recognises the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women, raises awareness about discrimination and drives gender parity.

State and federal grants are available now for small and medium businesses seeking energy efficiency upgrades as well as manufacturing growth opportunities.

I hope you all made the most of the long weekend and those who opened or worked did a roaring trade, the weather was certainly in full cooperation!