The easing of restrictions will once again allow more office workers to return, which is critical for the survival of Melbourne and the businesses and jobs that rely on foot traffic. I believe lifting the restrictions on the requirement to wear masks in the office will have a huge impact on getting employees back to their desks.

I know we all missed an opportunity two weeks ago to celebrate Valentine’s Day the way we wanted. So, let’s play it again Sam! Let’s do the right thing this Sunday and have the Valentine’s Day that we missed out on. I am keen to see your photos and videos in support of our local businesses who have been doing it tough – tag us and your local business on social media and spread the love!

It’s all part of the Victorian Chamber’s #ValentinesDayDoOver campaign for Victorians to celebrate the day this Sunday after so many of our members were left blindsided by the circuit breaker lockdown. I encourage those participating in Valentine’s Day this weekend to support them by sharing their booking or experience on their social channels with the hashtag #ValentinesDayDoOver. The best thing we can do for these businesses is to boost their revenue and provide hope and support for our hardest hit sectors.

Now that we have the virus back under control and the vaccine rollout has commenced, our attention turns to our world-renowned events sector. As I have mentioned before, confidence will be key if we want to see a return to events and an increase in crowd numbers, which is the final piece of the puzzle in our state’s path to recovery.

The Chamber is disappointed there is still ambiguity surrounding crowd caps at events beyond AFL games which makes it difficult for organisers to plan. March is typically ‘events month’ in Melbourne, with Melbourne Fashion Festival, Melbourne International Comedy Festival, blockbuster “Super Saturdays” racing at the VRC, Moomba and Melbourne Food and Wine Festival  scheduled.

Victoria should protectively guard our mantle as the events capital of Australia and support our massive events sector, which provides thousands of jobs, to get back on track. The importance of Victoria’s business events and conferences also cannot be ignored. These types of events need to ramp up again so we can get back to learning, networking and collaborating to make Victoria the best place in Australia to own, operate and work in a business.

Nevertheless, crowds will be welcomed at Flemington for the Flemington Racing Spectacular tomorrow and next Saturday for the Australian Guineas Day and Super Saturday. I encourage members to head to the track and take advantage of Victoria’s love of racing, food, drinks, live music and entertainment over the two race days and play a role in bringing our events sector back to life.It could even make a great Valentine’s Day Do Over date!

Finally, it was fantastic to be at Melbourne University this morning to hear a landmark speech by the Hon. Alan Tudge MP on university research and commercialisation with industry. It was a great session hosted by Melbourne University Vice-Chancellor Duncan Maskell,with Iain Martin (Deakin University Vice-Chancellor) and Pascale Quester(Swinburne University Vice-Chancellor)also in attendance, on a topic VCCI members can all relate to. The Chamber will ensure member involvement moving forward, and you can read Alan’s speech in full here.

Have a great weekend.

Regards, 
Paul.