The Geelong Chamber of Commerce has been reviewing priorities for new projects, business issues and new initiatives. In the near future the Chamber will be meeting with all local MPs ahead of the upcoming elections to pursue these items.

Both Australia’s and Victoria’s economies are faring well and the outlook for 2010 is really positive for them despite USA and Europe still being depressed with a much slower recovery predicted according to the Reserve Bank of Australia’s Head of Economic Analysis, Dr Tony Richards.

The Geelong Chamber is the envy of other Chambers of Commerce around Australia because of the continuing popularity of its monthly After Five functions which attract hundreds of its members on each occasion.

It is quite a rare event when Australian states are in harmony!

This does not mean a reduction in the traditional rivalry and strong competition between the states – these will always be evident!

The calls for an inquiry into the financing for Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in Australia are increasing.

The importance of the Geelong Port to the Victorian and regional economies is again emphasised in Port Futures which was launched in Geelong by the Minister for Roads and Ports, Tim Pallas, last month.

The gutsy grand final win by the Geelong Cats in September added to its previous flag in 2007 surely places the team and the Geelong Football Club as two of the most dominant AFL forces in the current era!

The Rudd government’s $42 billion financial stimulus package announced last February - the Nation Building Economic Stimulus Plan - is already benefiting the Geelong region’s economy and this is being demonstrated in contracts in the order of $30 million awarded to local companies in the Geelong region to date.

The Geelong Chamber’s strong message of “buying and trading locally” as the focus of its recent Geelong Region Buy Local Campaign needs to be constantly reinforced if the region’s attitude towards using local suppliers and professional services is to be changed!

When greenhouse gas reduction in Australia and globally is being hotly debated, it is all the more reason why Geelong businesses should look more closely at their resources use and the waste products generated from their operations.

Please join us in welcoming the following New Members to the Chamber:

Australian Red Cross Blood Service

Bridges Financial Services

Intrax Consulting Engineers

OBI Group

Preston Rowe Paterson Geelong P/L

Smartline

The Groove Train

Tricycle Developments

Please support these members where possible.

More than 430 students in Years 7 to 9 from Geelong’s secondary schools and colleges saw, first hand, the types of exciting and innovative projects that the modern manufacturing tradesperson now gets involved with during their course of work.

The Geelong Chamber has two real concerns about the Internet and Ecommerce.

The first is that Geelong continues to have the lowest take-up of the Internet and eCommerce by its businesses compared to any similar-size city in Australia as well as smaller cities and towns on a percentage basis!

By the time this edition is printed, the final report on the study of the issues and opportunities for businesses involved in the information and communication technology sector (ICT) in the Geelong region will have been released and will indicate very positive signs for this sector.

Geelong Business News May 2008 Edition

The Chamber recently had its new Strategic Plan 2008-2010 New Directions launched publicly by the Hon Lisa Neville, Minister for Mental Health, Senior Victorians and Community Services and Member for Bellarine.

Geelong Business News June 2008 Edition

The recent announcement in Geelong by the Premier, John Brumby, of $65 million to half-fund the last section of the Geelong ring road will see the final link of the bypass in place which considerably eases the original concerns of the Chamber.