Winter was always going to be a challenging period and we think this is a common sense approach that avoids mandates and puts the responsibility back on individual businesses to make the right decisions to protect their workforces as they have done over the past two years.

Business has played its part right throughout the pandemic and will continue to do so. Victorians have demonstrated time and again that they are able to make sound decisions to protect their health and I’m sure you will continue to support your teams including giving them the appropriate time off to get their third or fourth jab if they haven’t done so already.

Today, we are speaking to our leaders about what we can do in our organisation to keep our staff and visitors and customers safe and to help stop the spread. We will be thinking about:

• When should we wear a mask?
• How do we keep socially distanced?
• What additional communications do we need?
• How do we encourage and make it easy for staff to get the next booster?
• How do we increase sanitisation?
• Should we increase our days working away from the office for those that catch public transport?

I encourage everyone to have similar conversations in your organisation today.

In the meantime, we remain focused on addressing the ongoing challenges for business including the acute worker shortage. We welcomed the news that the Federal Government will host its Jobs and Skills Summit in Canberra on 1–2 September. It will bring together businesses, unions and government to shape the future of Australia’s labour market and we look forward to driving meaningful outcomes to support business.

One area the Summit will focus on is the labour market experiences of women. This is also a priority for the Victorian Chamber and Melbourne Chamber of Commerce and we are excited to announce our inaugural, industry-led program Chamber Change. It will be led by 20 senior executive women from a wide range of industries who will share their experiences, inspiration, and learnings with our participant group, to be selected via an Expression of Interest process which opens today. Participants will have access to the invaluable career insights of our Champions, as well as advice and assistance from our Victorian Chamber access, all while enjoying meaningful networking opportunities.

I’m very proud of this program, initiated by our first female President Karyn Sobels, and the strong representation of women within the Chamber. Our executive team and broader staff are 66 per cent female so we practice what we preach in the gender equity space. Thank you to the Chamber Change Champions who have volunteered their time to be involved to and help pave the way for other women in business. Thank you also to Chanelle Pearson and Vivian Gard in our team who have been meticulous in researching and developing a unique program that we believe will make a difference.

We recently released the results of our business energy survey which a number of media outlets covered including the Herald Sun, and I once again ask for your assistance in shaping our advocacy and policy platforms. Our Better Business Survey will help ensure that we are providing the support and services you need to achieve your business goals, and our policy surveys will inform us about the changes we should be pushing for within the areas of migration, and the government procurement system in construction and infrastructure.

Your feedback continues to be integral to our advocacy which is why I was delighted to visit Shepparton and Wodonga last week and reconnect with a number of our brilliant business leaders in Regional Victoria. Their insights were invaluable and we look forward to hosting more roundtable meetings across the state over the coming weeks and months. You can find out more about these visits and how to register for the upcoming events here.

Finally, I would like to congratulate all the finalists in this year’s Victorian Manufacturing Hall of Fame Awards, particularly our Victorian Chamber members, Starward Whiskey, Australian Defence Apparel, Essential Flavours and Ingredients, Repurpose It, and Planet Innovation. Best of luck for the big night!!

Have a wonderful week ahead, stay well and take care of each other.