It was wonderful to see so many members and guests at our first official breakfast event of the year on Wednesday, at the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre. “Why ESG is Good Business” welcomed more than 300 attendees to hear international guest speaker and ESG-expert, Bea Boccalandro, talk candidly on why business should be investing more time, energy and resources into their sustainable and ethical impacts. 

I would also like to thank our brilliant and engaging panel - Justine Felton from Stockland, Sally Curtain from the Bendigo Kangan Institute, Michael Hardwick from the Cotton On Group and Jim Antonopoulos from Tank - for their time, commitment and the wisdom shared on how their organisations are making a difference in this space. 

Last week I travelled to Israel as part of a small group led by Victorian Minister for Industry and Innovation, Manufacturing Sovereignty, Employment and Public Transport Ben Carroll. I met with a variety of companies to understand more about their start-up ecosystem and to find ways to apply their forward-thinking business models, strategies, intelligence and innovation policies here. 

While there I was able to spend time with a number of key people including H.E. Dr Ralph King, Australian Ambassador to Israel, Major Gen (Ret) Ido Nehushtan, Chairman, Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce, Yaron Daniely, General Partner aMoon, Gadi Porat, General Partner Jerusalem Venture Partners, Alexander Dickman Partner at Lumir Ventures (which is an Australian based fund), and Ami Appelbaum, Chief Scientist and Chairman Israel Innovation Authority.

We received an update on the Australia-Israel relationship and discussed ways that we can continue promoting and strengthening a prosperous and peaceful relationship between Israeli and Victorian businesses. We have an opportunity to help bridge gaps and foster strong connections and we will be doing everything in our power to achieve this. There are a number of Victorian companies who are already actively investing in Israel which is great to see. 

It was quite a trip and has opened many possibilities. I want to thank Paul Israel, CEO of Australia-Israel Chamber of Commerce and his team for ensuring the trip went smoothly. 

Minister Carroll signed two significant documents while there: one mentioned by Acting Chief Executive Scott Veenker last week regarding non-stop flights between Melbourne and Tel Aviv, and the second being a Memorandum of Understand between Monash University and Sheba Medical Centre, one of the world’s top research hospitals. This partnership will enable global research collaborations that can deliver health benefits for communities throughout Victoria, Australia, Israel and beyond by developing new medical technology, digital health innovations and models of care. Congratulations Monash! 

It’s been quite the week for our Universities. I would also like to congratulate Professor Iain Martin who has been reappointed as Deakin University’s Vice-Chancellor for a further five-year term. Professor Martin has a stellar reputation across the tertiary education industry, and I look forward to seeing what more Deakin will achieve under his leadership. 

This week, the Victorian Chamber also welcomed the State Government’s announcement of capped VLine fares, which aligns with our State Budget Submission. This initiative will encourage increased tourism and make it more affordable for country-based workers to attend their CBD offices more frequently. 

As some of you may know, I co-chair the advisory board for Mentally Health Workplaces, alongside Premier Daniel Andrews and Luke Hilakari, Head of Trades Hall. This board is a direct outcome of the Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System. We met again earlier this week to commission more research that will in turn lead to programs which will help Victorian businesses and employees deal with this important and complex issue. 

In addition to that, you may know that the Victorian Chamber is engaged with consultation around Worksafe. Rest assured; we will keep you across the progress as we can. 

With some nice weather ahead, please enjoy the weekend. I will be off to Flemington with our MCC member, the Victoria Racing Club to experience the last day of the incredible autumn racing spectacular!