The Victorian Chamber is preparing our 2022 Victorian State Election Platform and we need more member insights to help inform the recommendations that we will put forward to all parties and candidates.

We want to hear from you so the Victorian Chamber can effectively advocate for policies that will help make Victoria the best place to own and operate a business. The survey takes five minutes, and all results will remain confidential. Take the survey here.

Yesterday’s announcement that the Victorian Government will be introducing the Fair Jobs Code will inevitably impact many of our members and the way they conduct business. From our initial response during the stakeholder discussions in July 2020, our position remains that the introduction of this code adds an unnecessary layer of cost and complexity to doing business in Victoria, and that the State Government’s focus should be on removing barriers to Victorian business growth, not creating more.

You can read more about how the new Code will affect you here, and we thank those members whose input helped shape our advocacy on this matter.

Like many of you, I’ve enjoyed watching the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and it’s got me excited about the opportunity for Victoria when we host the first multi-regional city-based Games in 2026. Some have questioned the modern relevance of the Games, but I believe Victoria’s model will not only ensure they continue to survive but flourish for years to come.

As I explained in my column in the Herald Sun this week, the Games also present an opportunity to recalibrate our strategy for Regional Victoria. This was reinforced me to again this week when I visited Colac and Warrnambool for the latest in our series of regional roundtable meetings with business and community leaders.

Both sessions were well attended and will help shape our policy and advocacy platform ahead of the State Election on 26 November. With its $72 billion economy, Regional Victoria will be critical to our post-pandemic recovery and the Games will provide a much-needed focus and confidence boost for all areas of the State.

During my visits to Regional Victoria there have been common themes around staff shortages, lack of affordable housing, appetite for improved training and employment pathways, planning roadblocks and infrastructure struggling to keep up with increasing demand. Next week I’m heading to Mildura for our final roundtable on 18 August and registrations are open for members. To all of our guests at the meetings so far, I want to say a huge thank you for your valuable insights and feedback and we are committed to taking these messages back to all parties in the lead-up to the election.

As the warmer weather is on the horizon, our events calendar continues to heat up as well. We held our third Business After Dark event for the year on Tuesday evening at the iconic Immigration Museum. These nights are a wonderful opportunity to network with likeminded professionals from across a range of industries in an informal environment.

I hope to see many of you at our forthcoming Victorian Chamber’s Business Breakfast with Matthew Guy and members of his senior leadership team David Southwick, David Davis and Georgie Crozier. This will be a valuable opportunity to hear from the Coalition about their plans for Victoria in the lead-up to the election.

Enjoy the rest of the week.