President’s Welcome June 2022

Welcome to our latest newsletter and a warm winter welcome to all our members, sponsors and supporters.  

Much has happened since our newsletter in March including the election of a new Federal Government. While it’s still early days for the incumbent Government we are looking forward to seeing what transpires under the Albanese leadership over the next few years. We congratulate our local members who were re-elected including Ted O’Brien and Andrew Wallace and I am sure they will continue to lobby hard for infrastructure funding and other priorities for our region on a Federal level.

Mass transit continues to be a major issue for our region and while the State Government has not allocated any funding in its latest budget, It was very pleasing to see the Leader of the Opposition David Crisafulli commit to fund the State Government’s share of the heavy passenger rail cost.  The Maroochydore Chamber will continue to advocate with all levels of Government to fund heavy rail into Maroochydore as we head towards the 2032 Olympic Games.

It was also fantastic to see the entire Sunshine Coast Local Government Area recently declared a Biosphere by UNESCO, recognising the region as an international site of excellence and an area of natural beauty (this is no surprise to us locals). The biosphere credentials is a great boost for our local tourism industry as it invites locals and visitors alike to live, learn, work and play sustainably alongside active conservation, safeguarding the region for years to come.

Our chamber continues to host some fantastic events for our members including a recent sold out Coffee and Connect at the stunning new Holiday Inn Express within the new Maroochydore CBD.  We also had a great ‘Next Generation’ night at Ken Mills Toyota with some fantastic speakers and thought provoking discussions. Our events are always popular and we encourage you to register as soon as possible as places are limited.Thanks to all our partners and sponsors for their help to bring these great events to life.

Thanks to all our members who continue to support our Chamber by attending our events and providing support in so many different ways. Our chamber has never been in a better position and this would not be possible without your ongoing support.

Congratulations to our Executive team member William Thompson who is a finalist in the QLD Young Broker of the Year award which will be announced in mid July this year. Will is an integral part of our Young Chamber who recently recorded its 150th member which is a phenomenal achievement. Our Chamber is proud to support this next generation of business leaders and we look forward to seeing this group continue to emerge over the next few years.

Our Chamber executive team has again committed to supporting the national award winning Sunshine Coast Migrant Work Ready Program which will take place later this year. Executive team members Peppi Bueti and Mat Walker have been key players in delivering this program and both Mat and Peppi are working with our Chamber’s strategic advisor Alan Scott and Sunshine Coast Council to refine and enhance the program this year.

Peppi is also a panel member for a breakfast event at Venue 114 on Friday 22 July with high profile former Socceroo, Broadcaster, Adjunct Professor, Author and Human Rights Activist, Craig Foster as the keynote speaker. To book your ticket visit: https://venue114.com.au/events/in-conversation-coming-soon

Finally, I want to note the fantastic support from John Knaggs who recently resigned as CEO of SunCentral after a 7 year tenure. John has always been a fantastic supporter of our Chamber and his advice and guidance is greatly appreciated. We were thrilled when John agreed to participate in our June edition of the ChamberCast with the President and Pep, it’s a really interesting interview and we feel it was very important to document such a seminal part of our region’s history from John’s perspective for future generations. We wish John all the very best in the future and we look forward to developing a strong relationship with the new CEO Amanda Yeates.

I look forward to seeing you at our of our Chamber events.

Brendan Bathersby

President