Driving economic growth and prosperity in our region

A hugely successful Vision for the Whitsundays launch event last week saw over 60 attendees from local businesses eager to hear the visionary perspectives from David Littleproud MP (federal leader of the National Party), Andrew Willcox MP (Federal Member for Dawson), Amanda Camm MP (Queensland Member for Whitsunday) and Whitsunday Regional Council Mayor Julie Hall, all centred around driving economic growth and prosperity in our region.

Read more about the details presented on the evening on our Vision for the Whitsundays initiative, which will be regularly updated as this project progresses.

It was clear that to help our political representatives advocate more effectively, we need to be coordinated in our ask as a business community.

The Chamber’s next networking event in Proserpine on Thursday 13th July will focus on discussing the priorities for the region.

Now is the time to join the Chamber and be part of this initiative.

New memberships to end of FY23 are free – jump onto our website and join up.

Onto the budget, the Federal government announced some modest energy bill and tax relief for small business with key measures including increasing the instant asset write-off threshold to $20,000 for 12 months, a rebate of up to $650 off electricity bill for eligible businesses and up to $20,000 in bonus tax rebates per asset under the Small Business Energy Incentive scheme, to encourage businesses to install energy efficient appliances.

This week, representatives from the Chamber will meet with the Department of Employment, Small Business and Training (DESBT) with a view to establish a closer working relationship and getting the department to be more active in the region. The Department’s primary purpose is to support the workforce with learning opportunities and by helping small businesses establish and thrive and is an invaluable resource for our local enterprises.

Onwards and upwards for 2023.

by Chamber President, Allan Milostic