Welcome to the April update from the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce.
In my role as President, it is my ongoing pleasure not only to speak and advocate on behalf of our members and supporters but to try and represent the same at the many events and activities around the Gold Coast.
On the weekend, Prime Minister Scott Morrison called the Federal Election for May 21. As the leading Chamber on the Gold Coast, we have organised a Meet the Candidates breakfast event taking place on Thursday 28th April at Star Casino that is also being supported by all other Chambers across our city. The Gold Coast Bulletin are the media partner for the event, and you can purchase tickets below to listen to the candidates while considering your voting choice for our city, your families and your business.
This past month we have also seen a ramp up of activity regarding the upcoming State Budget. As part of our engagement with CCIQ we meet weekly as a mass chamber movement virtually discussing and strategising important issues that affect our business communities.
Across the State housing affordability and supply remains a growing concern for various reasons. Our business community need suitably qualified staff to be able to afford to live near their place of work and also make ends meet.
Joining other Chambers we have been also working hard calling on the Government to review the vaccination mandates. Thankfully our businesses now have unrestricted access to customers in time for the Easter holidays so they can continue to make the slow climb back to pre-pandemic levels.
As an Executive member of the City Heart Task Force, I am keen to advise we had our first in person meeting since COVID and am confident that we will continue to be part of the city’s reimagination.
We have also been working behind the scenes to continue the push for more locally hosted and managed events. We have also met with the Chair and CEO of Major Events Gold Coast to hear what they had to say. This was a great meeting, and we keenly await the delivery of some major events in the months ahead.
Recently, I have also met with both the Surfers Paradise RSL and Surfers Paradise Surf Lifesaving Club who, like us, are keen to understand what parking provision will be retained in perpetuity for the Surfers Paradise business and tourist community after the EOIs close for the fated sale process of Bruce Bishop car park. It’s essential this vital car parking resource is facilitated in any new development on this site.
We have also been actively involved with the ongoing support for the delivery of the Light Rail Stage 3 Broadbeach to Burleigh project. Whilst not welcomed by all, the Chamber fully supports the benefits this infrastructure will bring economically to our region. The contract is now signed with the principal contractor John Holland Group. We hope to hear more about this project at our rescheduled Transporting Cities into the Future on the 27th May 2022.
At a Board level we sadly waved farewell to one of our longstanding Treasurers, Logan Meehan and also long-standing Board Member Ken Petty. Both of these gentlemen have added huge value to our organisation across many years and their input will be missed. Thank you to both Logan and Ken for your input to our Chamber and our Members.
Finally, we have had the first full month with our new Admin & Events Team, Sabio. They are going very well and shortly we will be rolling out our new economic pillars and strategy documents for review.
I wish you and your families all a happy and healthy Easter.
Martin Hall
President
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce
