From reporting hundreds of new cases every day, to having consecutive ‘donut days’, it is fair to say we have beaten COVID-19. It was hard, and many have suffered loss and great hardships personally and financially, but the numbers are showing that it’s over.

After suffering the worst bushfires in decades which decimated so many lives and livelihoods, the extended COVID-19 lockdowns in Victoria caused the worst downturn of business anywhere in the country.

Even before the second COVID-19 wave came, our hotels, museums, art galleries, concert venues and tourism attractions were all forced to close merely days before the busy Easter school holiday period.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics predicted in August that 35 per cent of small businesses and 33 per cent of medium-sized businesses would struggle to pay their bills in the coming few months. Even more worrying, 29 per cent of all businesses have reported having less than three months’ worth of cash on hand to sustain their business.

We, as a State, have paid the price to quash COVID-19, but now is the time to reap the rewards of our endurance and determination.

Victorians from metropolitan and regional areas have united once again to become one State now that the ring of steel has been removed. While this reunification marks the end of an era, it must also be the beginning of something new, and better.

Simply because restrictions have been eased, does not mean the crisis is over, nor that we can or should return to the way things were pre-COVID.

All Victorians now have an opportunity to power the rebuild of our state and restart the engine that moves Australia’s economy. We need to buy from local suppliers, travel to local destinations and experience what our state has to offer.

Whether it be the Mornington Peninsula, the Goulburn Valley, or the Melbourne CBD; as the Summer approaches and we make holiday plans, the bounties that our State offers need to be the priority for our holiday dollars.

The State Budget, which has been slated for 24 November, will also play a significant role in the recovery of our businesses. VCCI has submitted more than 50 specific recommendations to the Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas.

To fuel our recovery, the VCCI’s submission calls for three key priorities:

1. Protect and grow local businesses and jobs
2. Reclaim our global reputation
3. Define and implement the next big build

VCCI has called for the State Government to provide a long-term funding stream to support Visit Victoria’s important work as well as maintaining strong funding support for Business Events Victoria (BEV). We’ve called on the government to allow school camps to resume; to suspend council administered Food Act Registration renewal costs; grants for businesses holding events to help offset OH&S costs associated with keeping a COVID-safe environment.

Investment in regional transport and other tourism infrastructure (e.g. national parks, public lands, waterways, visitor facilities) will also play a significant role in our recovery, along with tailored, digital upskilling for the retail, hospitality, manufacturing, and visitor economy sectors - all of which VCCI has called for.

The world over has experienced COVID-19 – one which we will never forget. While thankfully our mortality rate hasn’t been as severe as other parts of the world, our economy has felt it all the same.

We have all been through what we will remember as the dark times together. Now we need to stick together and support each other into the light. Our recovery has begun, and now is the time for us to move forward, rebuild and thrive together as one community.

Though cliché, through crisis comes opportunity.

The crisis is not over, and this is our opportunity to become better.