Rebuilding confidence across region
A RENEWED sense of hope is flowing across regional Victoria as restrictions begin to ease. Melbourne is on the brink of change, government support is growing, our state’s daily cases are lower, and broader Australia is opening up.
Local businesses should have greater confidence and can start planning to increase their operations very soon.
Local businesses continue to be greatly impacted and we encourage everyone to support local and use the school holidays to enjoy our region.
Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula have a remarkable list of natural assets, proof you don’t need to go far to find world-class attractions. While visiting, you should stay the night, go out for dinner or consider how the local tourist operators can provide you and your family with a lifetime of memories.
In the background, advocacy groups and local MPs are working hard to ensure Geelong and the rest of regional Victoria do not miss out on important funding for rebuilding in state and federal budgets. The Geelong collective has prioritised business support to kickstart our economy, as well as infrastructure spending, community projects and tourism-related initiatives.
We were recently provided with the opportunity to join Senator Sarah Henderson and Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar to discuss the specific needs of Geelong and were assured the federal budget would cater to our priorities.
Local MP Christine Couzens has also been a tireless advocate for Geelong at state level and we now wait to see the outcomes of these budgets in the coming weeks.
We knew we must work together to get through this disruption and that’s what’s happening. Everyone in Geelong needs to be commended for their hard work, safe practices and sheer determination.
Working together does not mean business owners can’t ask for help. The chamber has launched our mentoring program and had meaningful discussions with government around financial counselling and broader wellbeing programs to assist business owners to stay afloat.
There has been significant support announced for businesses, but the chamber continues to push for more.
The chamber is looking forward to celebrating the Geelong Business Excellence Awards as a free virtual event on October 15. This is an opportunity to recognise those businesses that have gone over and above throughout the past 18 months. I encourage you to register because it’s a celebration of everything that’s good about Geelong — a perfect time to build on the sense of hope that’s flowing across our community and reinforce just how resilient and determined we are.
Rebuilding needs to start now. There’s lots of heavy lifting to be done, so let’s all put in the work to turn this pandemic into an opportunity to redefine our city’s future.