We look forward to continuing to work with the Victorian Government and I have been in touch with many of those MPs who were successful on the weekend. Once the ministries have been announced, I will be requesting meetings to ensure business continues to play an important role in helping Victoria power ahead.

I was grateful to join our President Adrian Kloeden and General Manager Policy Dylan Broomfield to meet with Treasurer Tim Pallas this week. It continues an important tradition of the Treasurer meeting with the Victorian Chamber as his first meeting after an election.

The Chamber released our State Election Platform, Powering Victoria’s Future, prior to the campaign. We’re pleased that the State Government adopted more than a third of our 61 recommendations to support business during the campaign and we now look forward to working closely with the Government to implement these commitments.

A big thank you to all of our members who supported our platform and have ensured business remains a strong voice in Victoria. The Victorian Chamber is inviting you to join a special webinar, What the State Election Means for Business, next Tuesday December 6.  Our experts will dissect the election results, our policy outcomes and what it means for your business.

I’ve also been in Canberra this week attending the Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Business Leaders Summit. I met with the Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Deputy Prime Minister Richard Marles around ensuring Victoria business remains a focus. Both are very interested in the opportunities that export and trade present.

It will be a challenging time for business with the imminent passage of the new IR Bill and our Workplace Relations team is ready to assist once all the details are known. While we appreciate the efforts of Senator Pocock to mitigate the negative outcomes for small business, the concessions he agreed to do not go far enough.

The Bill as it stands will only add cost and complexity to Australian businesses at a time when they can least afford it. This Bill includes forcing small businesses with more than 20 employees to adopt workplace arrangements and pay rates they had no role in negotiating and we maintain the view that the Bill is not fit for passage.

This week the Victorian Chamber also hosted the 36th Confederation of Asia-Pacific Chambers of Commerce and Industry (CACCI) Conference at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. As delegates were told by various speakers, businesses in the region will play a critical role in the post-pandemic world economy.

The conference was attended by delegates from 15 countries and we were joined by the CACCI President, Samir Modi; Former Premier and Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre Trust Chair the Hon. John Brumby AO; State Director of Victorian State Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trading Andrew Cumpston; Chief Marketing Officer at Visit Victoria  Shae Keenan; and Chief Executive of the Melbourne Convention Bureau, Julia Swanson.

I’d like to congratulate fellow Victorian Peter McMullin AM who was elected president of CACCI and we look forward to working closely with him and hearing more next month about Melbourne’s bid to host the 2025 World Chambers Congress.

As summer officially begins, so does the festive season! I’m sure your diaries are filling fast but I hope you can join us for our women in business lunch on Thursday December 8 featuring Jessica Sepel. Hear her inspiring story about how she built a health and wellness empire and enjoy the last business networking event of the year. Ticket sales close soon, so secure yours now.

Finally, congratulations to the Socceroos on their thrilling win over Denmark  to advance Australia to the World Cup round of 16 for only the second time. It was great to see so many fans in Federation Square enjoying the win in the early hours of this morning.

Enjoy the rest of the week and go Socceroos!