The Victorian Chamber is a staunch advocate of Victoria’s regions, which are a significant driver of the state’s jobs, exports and tourism. For example:

• One in four Victorians live in the regions, while 40 per cent of the state’s small businesses and 700,000 jobs are also based regionally
• Regional tourism contributes $11.5 billion to the state economy a year
• Regional Victoria is responsible for a third of Victoria’s total exports, with more than 80 per cent of Australia’s diary exports, 48 per cent of horticultural exports and 39 per cent of food exports coming from Victoria.

Acknowledging the importance of our regions, and to help advocate for better outcomes for our regional members in the lead up to the November State Election, the Victorian Chamber is holding a series of upcoming Regional Policy and Advocacy Roundtable events.

These events will help inform our Regional Election Platform. Members are invited to attend the meetings and share their priorities and insights.

The meetings will commence on 7 July in Shepparton, followed by Wodonga (8 July), Traralgon (28 July), Colac, (9 August) and Warrnambool (10 August).

They will be the first of ongoing meetings across Regional Victoria with policy and advocacy roundtables also being planned for Swan Hill, Ballarat, Geelong, Echuca, Wangaratta, Mildura and Bairnsdale over the coming months.

Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry Chief Executive Paul Guerra said: “It will be wonderful to reconnect in person with the Chamber’s regional members following two years of restricted travel and continue to build our relationships across all of our regional business Chambers.

“Regional Victoria is playing a critical role in our economic recovery and these roundtable meetings will be a fantastic opportunity to listen to the views and insights of businesses across the state.

“Our regions are the heart and soul of this great state and we’ve seen a significant migration of people to regional areas over the past two years. We are committed to continuing to support and advocate on behalf of businesses in our regions to boost jobs and investment.

“There’s never been a better time to support Regional Victoria’s greatest assets, its people and businesses, that will play a critical role in ensuring we restore Victoria’s status as an economic powerhouse.”

Priorities

The Victorian Chamber’s priorities for Regional Victoria include:

• Developing Regional Victoria as the place to start and grow a business by improving regional infrastructure, boosting connectivity, addressing skills shortages and developing agribusiness, local procurement and health and mental health support services;
• Supporting our visitor economy to rapidly adapt and recover;
• Solving supply chain constraints through a new freight terminal;
• Investing in Victoria’s clean energy industries to create jobs and build a thriving manufacturing sector.

The Chamber invites all regional businesses to take up this opportunity to engage with Victorian Chamber Chief Executive, Paul Guerra, and our policy team.

For more information about the Regional Policy and Advocacy Roundtable, including dates, visit our events page here. To become a member of the Victorian Chamber, click here.

If you have any questions or would like to be involved in our broader advocacy work, please contact us via policy@victorianchamber.com.au