Torrential rains a month ago in the Eyre Peninsular of South Australia, caused by a La Nina weather system, resulted in large of amounts moisture from the Northern Territory descending upon this region was the latest to impact business in these challenging times. You may have asked, what does that have to do with us here in Bunbury Geographe region?
In January more than 300km across 14 locations along the rail link between WA and the East Coast was washed away causing this vital link for our state to be closed for a month while repairs were completed. Businesses again had to pivot. Through inventive initiatives, various forms of road transportation and even utilising marine freight kept the wheels of industry turning. Catching up with one of our large manufacturing members recently, they shared how they needed to hire 10,000M2 additional warehouse space in Perth to store their products while the rail link to WA was cut off.
Many of our businesses report the issues and delays in the supply chain beyond this rail issue and the fact that some have gone close to running out of essential raw materials over the last few months. So again, the agility of our member businesses to keep trading is another demonstration of their speed, their inventiveness and determination. Outside the obvious issues of skills shortages and restrictions, we will always applaud legislation and policy that removes red tape and allows our businesses to perform at their best.
The Chamber fully supports the Federal Government’s stance that growth of the national economy will now need to transition to the private sector. The private sector needs the freedom and the restrictions to lift as soon as safely possible, enabling them to recruit new skilled staff, invest, and expand to harness the economic potential.
It is pleasing to see across the country the doors opening to the rest of the world to bring back the skilled migrants, the investment dollars and allowing students and tourists back to our shores. With March 3rd announced as the new date for the opening of the WA borders, many businesses will be preparing to welcome international and interstate travellers to our region.
During quarter 1 in 2022, BGCCI will be launching several exciting initiatives at the Chamber that will hopefully further benefit our members. Of note will be the launch of the Women in Business initiative, led by Erin Van Noort from Albemarle. This committee will be delivering a series of functions with keynote female leaders, networking events for women in business and forums showcasing the best examples we have here in our region.
Another initiative led by David Emerson from GWN7, the Emerging Leaders committee will provide a Mentor:Mentee program run annually across 9 months to help our regions emerging leaders gain insights and practical ways to become a better leader. This will be run in conjunction with the established program operated through WA Police and will allow aspiring leaders through our membership to be paired with senior leaders of other diverse organisations. They will hopefully experience a learning journey that will challenge and develop them to become better for themselves, their companies and our community.
We wish all our members well over the coming months as we navigate the COVID-19 latest events. We will always ensure that we provide practical advice on how to navigate this constantly changing environment to ensure you operate your businesses in a safe and compliant manner. Please reach out to us for any such support.
Safe Trading,
Danny Griffin
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