We, the undersigned, represent businesses which employ almost one million Australians, and provide products and services to people right across the country. We have seen how effectively this country can come together over the past 18 months – with state and federal governments working alongside communities and businesses.

We have seen the effectiveness of lockdowns in suppressing the virus last year, and in slowing its spread today while we vaccinate the population as quickly as possible. We are encouraged by the building momentum in the vaccine program, with Australia now administering more doses per capita each week than the UK or the US ever achieved in their programs.

At the same time, we can also see the impact of lockdowns on our people, on our customers, on our small business suppliers, and on communities and families right across the country. Australia is juggling a mental health emergency at the same time as a global pandemic. Some of the impacts of current lockdowns are hidden, and the effects will be long lasting.

As vaccination rates increase, it will become necessary to open up society and live with the virus, in the same way that other countries have done. The National Cabinet has agreed to a roadmap which provides a path out of lockdowns, with an easing of restrictions from 70% and 80% vaccination rates. We need to stay the course.

Informed by modelling from the Doherty Institute, it balances the risks from COVID in a more vaccinated population, with the risks of indefinitely keeping our country divided and cut off from the world, our children out of schools, our friends apart from loved ones, and our small businesses closed.

Businesses will continue to do whatever we can to support our people to get vaccinated and to provide a safe environment for our customers and the community, including the prioritisation of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities as originally intended.

We ask governments to work together to implement the National Plan and chart a path out of the current lockdowns. Providing a light at the end of the tunnel will encourage more Australians to get vaccinated. We need to give people something to hope for, something to look forward to, something to plan around, and to be confident about their futures.

Business Council of Australia members

Graeme Hunt
Managing Director and CEO
Shayne Elliot
Chief Executive Officer
Rob Wheals
Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director
Dominic Stevens
Managing Director and CEO
Tara Brady
Country Managing Director, ANZ
Richard Spurio
Managing Partner
Matthew Halliday
Managing Director and CEO
Paul Jenkins
Global Managing Partner
Rohan Mead
Group Managing Director & CEO
Mike Henry
Chief Executive Officer
Peter Stumbles
Managing Partner - Australia
Marnie Baker
Managing Director
Dr Brendan Nelson AO
President
Anthony Roediger
Managing Partner, Australia & New Zealand
Hisham El-Ansary
Chief Executive Officer
Tim Reed & Jennifer Westacott AO
President & Chief Executive
Marc Luet
Chief Executive Officer
Dig Howitt
Chief Executive Officer and President
Steven Cain
CEO and Managing Director
Matt Comyn
Chief Executive Officer
Mark van Dyck
Regional Managing Director
Richard Gibb
Chief Executive Officer
John Paitaridis
Chief Executive Officer
Craig Davison
ANZ CEO
Karen Dobson
Managing Director
Seelan Nayagam
President, Asia Pacific
Adam Powick
Chief Executive Officer
Patrick Houlihan
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
David Larocca
Oceania CEO and Regional Managing Partner
Guy Chalkley
Chief Executive Officer
Dean Fradgley
Chief Executive Officer
Graeme Beardsell
Chief Executive Officer
Sam Maresh
Country Leader
Urs Meyerhans
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Daniel Gilbert AM
Managing Partner
Robert Spurway
Managing Director & CEO
Mario Pirone
Chief Executive Officer
Phil Schacht
Chief Executive
Andrew Pike
Executive Partner
Michael Miller
Managing Director
Nick Hawkins
Managing Director and CEO
Melanie Evans
Chief Executive Officer
Jeanne Johns
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Andrew Groth
Executive Vice President, Region Head - Australia & New Zealand
Rob Bedwell
Chief Executive Officer
Frank Tudor
Managing Director
Scott Bookmyer
Partner, Head of Australia
Alison Kitchen
Australian Chairman
Adam Dixon
Managing Partner/MD ANZ
Greg O'Neill OAM
President & Chief Executive Officer
Greg Ellis
Chief Executive Officer
Shemara Wikramanayake
Chief Executive Officer
Angus Dawson
Managing Partner, Australia & New Zealand
Virginia Briggs
Chief Executive Officer & Managing Partner
Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz
CEO and Managing Director
Richard Wagner
Chief Executive Officer and Co-Head of Investment Banking
Ross McEwan CBE
Group Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director
Alison Deitz
Chief Executive Partner
Kelly Bayer Rosmarin
Chief Executive Officer
Frank Calabria
Chief Executive Officer
Paul Scurrah
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Rob Adams
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Glenn Thompson
Managing Director & Group CEO
Tom Seymour
Chief Executive Officer
Alan Joyce AC
Chief Executive Officer
Pip Marlow
CEO & Executive Vice President ANZ
Peter Allen
Chief Executive Officer
Tony Nunan
EVP/Country Chair Shell Australia
Paul Broad
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Graham Kerr
Chief Executive Officer
Tarun Gupta
Managing Director and CEO
Geoff Culbert
Chief Executive Officer
Andy Penn
Chief Executive Officer
Scott Charlton
Chief Executive Officer
Dom Taylor
General Manager ANZ
Guy Templeton
President and CEO, Asia Pacific
Rob Scott
Chief Executive Officer
Peter King
Chief Executive Officer
Jose Da Silva
Group Chief Executive Officer & Executive Director
Brad Banducci
Chief Executive Officer and Managing Director

Other businesses and associations

Mark Young
Managing Director
Alan Cameron Gray
Director
Richard Feledy
Managing Director
Frank & Alison Edwards
Owners
James Goodwin
Chief Executive
Theo Foukkare
CEO
John Hurley
Owner
Tanya Barden OAM
Chief Executive Officer
Ilter Esad
Managing Director
Trevor Rawnsley
CEO
Paul Zahra
Chief Executive Officer
John Dennis
CEO
Yateender Gupta
Managing Director
Jeffrey Cureton
Director
George Frazis
Chief Executive Officer
Ian Holding
Managing Director
Nick Fels
Chief Executive Officer
John & Kellie Blacksell
Owners
Peter Noble OAM
Executive Chairman
Noel Ambler
Owner
Randall Dregar
Branch Manager
Lisa Shreeve
CEO
Christopher Bevan
Barrister and Non-Executive Company Director
Dr Doug MacKie
Director
Gwilym Morris
Owner
Anthony Clarke
Owner
Stephen Byron
CEO
Laurie McDonald
Managing Director
Rory Murphy
Chief Executive Officer
William Palmer
Owner
Simon Swanson
Managing Director
Rob Coombe
Executive Chairman-Elect
Mary Clarke
Principal
Paul Waite
Director
Adrian Mccoy
Director
David Healy
Managing Director
Ross Benard
Director
Daniel Kearney
CEO
Richard Boyer
Managing Director
Stephen Jenkins
Director
David Norton
Owner
Graham Turner
Global MD & CEO
Cathy Spry
Owner
Trish Cavarra
Business Owner/Manager
Martin Gamble
Managing Director
Adrian Turvey
Owner
Julian Fenwick
Managing Director
Goman Siu
Owner
James Geddes
Founder and Managing Director
Sandra Legge
Owner
Luke Hepworth
Managing Director
Eoin Macneill
Vice President
Kevin Lin-Hsiang Huang
Director
Hotel Rescue Pty Ltd - Strong Australia Network
Hotel Rescue Pty Ltd
Deirdre Wilson
CEO
Hussein Zehour
Officeholder
Andrew Hall
CEO and Executive Director
Con Katsinas
CEO
John Richard Parr
Managing Director
Julian Lefebvre
Founder & Director
Karen Sheldon AM
Managing Director
Grahame Edgell
Chairman
Gordon Jenkinson
Owner
John Good
Managing Director
Ahmed Fahour AO
Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer
Ian Simmonds
Managing Director
James Boyle
Chief Executive Officer
Dimitri Salichon
Owner
Michael Agnew
Owner
Ian Boldiston
Director/Owner
Jamie Timmins
General Manager
Paul & Marian Hatfield
Motel Management
David Marburg
Principal
Andrew Leakey
General Manager, Mars Wrigley
Matt Impey
Business Owner
Scott Baldwin
Managing Director
Patrick Clarke
CEO
Damien Cavanagh
CEO
Douglas Golden
Executive GM
Fiona Triaca
CEO/Owner
Robert Gunning
Director
Tony Clark
CEO
Norris Smith
Owner
Andrew Cole
CEO and MD
Markus Mueller
Managing Director
Peter Black
Managing Director
Ann & Allan Jones
Building Managers
John Hardy
Owner/Founder
Mario Rehayem
Chief Executive Officer
John Loudon
CEO
Kirk Kikirekov
Managing Director
Sue Houghton
CEO, Australia Pacific
John Kananghinis
Managing Director
Philip & Amanda Martin
Owner
Sue Rainsford
Owner
Guy Peterson
CEO
Adam Sheumack
Managing Director
David Waylen
Executive Officer
Craig Harris
Business Owner
Herbert Adam Stichel
Owner/Operator
Anuja Rao
Managing Director & Founder
Rob Burden
Managing Director
Leah Zegarac
Owner
Jacqueline Sarah Parry
CEO
Stephen Stead
Managing Director
John Knight
Director
Chris McDonald
CEO
Suzanne Day
Manager
Steve Johnson
CEO
Tony Smith
Managing Director
Carolyn Witt
Manager
Brett Clark
CEO and Managing Director
Mark Berry
Director
Darryl Kasch
Owner
Ross McLennan
CEO
Spencer Trusler
General Manager
Rodney Stuart Blundell
Public Officer, Secretary and Treasurer
David Small
Executive Director
Richard Kirkman
CEO and Managing Director
Julienne Nurse
Managing Director
Mathew Lewis
CEO
Simon Mitchell
Director
William J M Moody
Principal
Peter Michael Wargent
Owner
Justin Delaney
CEO Australia and New Zealand

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Authorised by J.Wilson, Business Council of Australia, 120 Collins Street, Melbourne VIC 3000