This special issue focuses on health and wellbeing and we hope you will start your week by reading our excellent features and thinking about what you can do in your workplace to improve your staff’s health and wellbeing at work.

Features in the magazine range from comment pieces from the Federal and State Ministers, leading Victorian medical research and innovations, great ideas for workplace wellbeing programs, a spotlight on mental health and profiles of the innovative work of our members.

I hope you all enjoy the read, available online here.

And as many of you are refreshed and recharged from the break, it is important to remember those businesses who face extra strain on a public holiday. For some of our members it would have been more cost efficient to reduce trading hours or stay closed on the Easter Sunday public holiday. The Victorian Chamber continues to advocate for Victorian businesses that must pay the financial cost of having 14 public holidays, a number matched only by the Australian Capital Territory.  

Our advocacy on pro-business policies, like keeping the number of public holidays under control, will receive much attention in the lead up to the State Budget in early May. We will be monitoring any announcements in advance of the budget to inform our members what these will mean for them.

For those who would like to hear the full budget summary from the Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas MP himself, the Victorian Chamber is hosting the post-budget lunch on 3 May 2017, with the last available tickets selling fast and available to purchase here.

I wish you all a productive week ahead.

Mark Stone AM