President's Report - March 2022

I’m pleased to start this month’s President update with the news that the Southport Chamber of Commerce now has over 300 members – a fantastic milestone that shows the strength of business within the Gold Coast CBD.

I would like to take this moment to welcome to our new Gold Members – First Asset Management, VMA Promotional Products, Key Business Network, SonicHealthPlus, Fiskl Advisory and Gardian.

Over the past month the Southport Chamber of Commerce has worked closely with CCIQ on a number of State and Federal issues that affect businesses, their livelihoods and their staff.

We have called for business vaccine mandates to be reviewed and removed, with many businesses still trading under vaccine mandates years after the pandemic began.

More than 60% of business owners or staff in Queensland are suffering mental health impacts due to COVID stressors while emotionally and financially exhausted Gold Coast businesses are still being impacted in their day-to-day operations with business mandates dragging on two years later.

With interstate and international tourists travelling freely around the state, mask rules relaxed and the double vaccination rate well over 90%, it’s time to review business mandates in Queensland.

With the current housing crisis in Queensland, we were pleased to see peak industry groups uniting to call for a national housing summit, with eleven of the state’s peak bodies writing a letter to the Federal Minister for Housing, Assistant Treasurer Michael Sukkar, and the Shadow Minister for Housing and Homelessness, Jason Clare, urgently seeking a National Housing Summit to kickstart a collaboration of all tiers of government and industry.

The letter details the impact of a ‘perfect housing storm’ on Queensland and its resulting social challenges for individuals, families and local communities state-wide. You can read the letter in full here.

The Federal Budget provided welcome funding for skilling workforces, and red tape reductions for businesses.

An urgent need for a skilled workforce is required in Queensland as businesses battle significant staff shortages. The promised investment in upskilling and retraining will assist with this key issue.

Additionally, the digital technology investment boost for businesses that will provide a 20% tax deduction for supporting business’s digital adoption is a welcome package for small and family businesses.

With the Federal Election just weeks away, the Southport Chamber of Commerce is pleased to join with all Gold Coast Chambers to deliver the Gold Coast Meet the Candidates Event – a Federal Election Breakfast special, covering the seats of Fadden, Moncrieff and McPherson.

The media partner for this event has been confirmed as the Gold Coast Bulletin and all candidates will have an opportunity to speak on a panel facilitated by one of their key journalists.

This unscripted and live event is a rare opportunity for businesses to hear what our local candidates have to offer the Gold Coast business community, and question these candidates about their vision for the future of the Gold Coast ahead of the upcoming 2022 election.

We are expecting this event to sell out, so please purchase tickets early to avoid any disappointment. Get tickets here.

Lastly, the CCIQ Pulse Survey of business conditions for the March Quarter (2022) is now open. We need your feedback about what’s impacting your business today, and what will influence your decision-making over the next three months.

The previous quarter indicated Queensland’s economy and businesses were serverly impacted by the initial wave of Omicron and that business confidence in the performance of the National and Queensland economies had plummeted.

Click here to take the survey before Monday 18 April.