As the president of Docklands Chamber of Commerce, it is my pleasure to inform you on Chamber news from the first quarter of 2010. It has been a busy year so far and I am excited about the future directions for your Chamber through 2010.

Forums and Committees:
The Chamber is, as always, committed to representing members at a variety of forums and groups, including City of Melbourne’s District Precinct Programme; Police Community Consultative Committee, the Docklands Liquor Licensees Forum. Recently, I attended the 2010 Prospectus Launch of Destination Melbourne along with your vice-president, Elena Tsapatolis and committee members, Joh Maxwell and William Rowe.

At the March Future Melbourne meeting, I made a representation, on behalf of the DCC, on the retention of the Melbourne City Tourist Shuttle Contract. I was impressed by comments made by Lord Mayor, Robert Doyle, and Cr Brian Shanahan during the discussion. Your Chamber is committed to representing members and to initiatives proposed by the Lord Mayor and Cr Shanahan in completing a proper value-assessment of this service to ensure that the City is able to provide value for ratepayers and that Chamber support for the retention of MCTS is well placed.

Surveys:
This year, your Chamber has resolved to improve communication with its membership on the issues that affect businesses in Docklands. It’s no secret that the provision of public amenities in Docklands is a problem for visitors and locals alike. The Chamber is running a survey (www.docklandscc.com.au) on this issue at the request of the Docklands Liquor Licensees Forum. The aim of this study is to provide information to the City and the Forum supporting representations from other concerned stake holders in the Docklands area; including Victoria Police, developers, bodies corporate and residents’ associations.

We will also be running a survey aimed specifically at our members regarding their needs of and aspirations for the Chamber, which will inform future planning and delivery of greater benefit for your membership dollar.

Chamber Meetings:
Meetings are held regularly on the third Tuesday of each month to provide updates on Chamber activities and information. Additionally, in 2010 attendees have enjoyed the networking opportunities afforded by our new meeting format. Members have also expressed their appreciation at the chance to sample the changing venues, generously supplied by fellow members.

This year it was our great pleasure to host the March meeting at Woolshed Pub and the April meeting at the Sharp Showroom. In May we will meet at 6.30 pm on Tuesday 18 May at the Costco warehouse and for June we hope to host a seminar-style breakfast meeting.

Please visit www.docklandscc.com.au for details. Our monthly meetings are generally open to all, so please come along – it would be my pleasure to welcome you aboard!

Wishing you and your business all the best until next time!