Bringing Business Together
Our Purpose
Fishermans Bend is the largest urban renewal area in Australia, covering an area of 491 hectares.
Over the next 35 years, Fishermans Bend is expected to be home to approximately 80,000 residents and up to 80,000 jobs across five precincts.
The Fishermans Bend business community needs a collective voice to represent the views of its members and the broader business community especially during the current planning phase.
The purposes of the association are:
-
To providing businesses located in the Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal Area (FBURA) with a unified voice
-
To engage with political decision-makers at the federal, state and local level to deliver real results for our members and the broader business community
-
To provide opportunities for members to network and collaborate in improving individual businesses and the local economy
-
To tackle issues that impact on members’ business and ensure that they are on the public policy agenda
-
To work with developers, transport authorities, planners and investors to ensure quality outcomes that are conducive to good business outcomes for the Fishermans Bend precinct
Fishermans Bend Business Forum is registered as an association under The Associations Reform Act 2012 Registration number A0102058V ABN 69 826 520 901
VITAL CAMPAIGNS THAT WILL IMPACT ON YOUR BUSINESS
It is vital that the Government listens to you and other businesses before finalising its planning. The Fishermans Bend Business Forum has driven thinking on three employment and innovation clusters - film technology, the cement industy and automotive/mobility for the future.
Engaging with government on all levels
The Fishermans Bend Urban Renewal project works on many levels. FBBF is active in making representations to planning authorities, consultants appointed by government, property agents, property owners and a broad range of stakeholders. Our officeholders regularly meet with staff from the Department of Jobs Precincts and Regions, councillors from the City of Melbourne and Port Phillip and relevant government ministers. We have established relationships with Yarra Trams, the University of Melbourne Fishermans Bend Project team and sector industry associations such as the Property Council and the Cement Concrete and Aggregate Association.
The Cement Industry Vital for the Victorian Economy
The Melbourne Cement Facilities on Wharf 26 on Lorimer Street is at the heart of the Victorian Government infrastructure program and the commercial building industry. Each day ships dock bringing cement to feed these vital sectors of the economy.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics shows the value of Victorian building approvals for the year to November 2018 was worth $39.5 billion.
Fishermans Bend is a logical location with port access, road links to concrete batching plans and ready access to the CBD.
There are opportunities for linkages to research facilities locally and internationally.
These trackless trams are currently operating in China
These trackless trams are currently operating in China
Mobility for a growing population of workers and residents.
Public transport must be a government priority if Fishermans Bend is the achieve its targets. There is a need for forward thinking not just an extension of current technologies. FBBF believes that technologies that are now becoming available globally must be on the agenda.
This includes trackless trams, shared use vehicles and will eventually lead to autonomous vehicles.
The Committee has established relationships with the Automobile Campus based in Helmond Holland and is supporting the establishment of a Smart Mobility Living Lab in Fishermans Bend. With the work of the General Motors Design Centre and Toyota's engineering facility the future looks bright.
Toyota hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicle being tested in Fishermans Bend Melbourne
Toyota hydrogen Fuel Cell vehicle being tested in Fishermans Bend Melbourne
Roads, Road Users and Mobility as a Service
Fishermans Bend offers the opportunity to be a test-bed for innovation in the way people and goods move around the city and state. Currently in the area are:
-
Australian Road Research Board
-
ITS Australia
-
General Motors design centre
-
Toyota Nation HO and design and engineering centre
-
iMove- the CRC for Transport
-
Siemens
-
GATSO Australia
-
Uber
Combining these with the University of Melbourne School of Engineering and RMIT University this makes for an exciting innovation and employment cluster.
Mobility as a Service (MaaS) means better use of resources, less congestion and better environment outcomes.
Staff in Area 2 will retain some all-day parking
Staff in Area 2 will retain some all-day parking
Sandridge Parking Win
FBBF supported businesses in the Sandridge Precinct to overturn parking restrictions that were proposed by the City of Port Phillip. After briefing Councillors an amount of unrestricted (all-day) parking was retained in Area 2 and 80 4-hours free parks were reinstated in Area 1
Viewing Digital Twin model
Business in the Bend
FBBF offers members to network at social events that rotate around some interesting venues in Fishermans Bend. Already connections made between business have resulted in contracts valued in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Executive Committee
.jpg)
Bernadene Voss
President
Linda Norman
Secretary
Linda manages a national team of HR consultants for HRplus. She has more than 20 years’ experience in the discipline of human resources management and industrial relations and has worked and consulted to several member-based organisations.
Linda graduated from the University of Western Australia with a Bachelor of Psychology and has completed a Masters of Commerce at Melbourne University.
Linda works and lives in the Fishermans Bend area and has held several Board and committee positions for non-profit organisations. She is delighted to be part of the FBBF, a team of passionate people seeking to ensure urban planning in the Bend engages and supports a vibrant business and social community.
Murray Nicol
Vice President
Murray started Financial Planning in 2003 and specialises in providing Wealth Creation, Wealth Protection, Superannuation and Estate Planning strategies. He was a foundation member of the Steering Committee that was established in January 2018 to establish the business forum.
Bernadene has had long and deep involvement in Fishermans Bend, from re-zoning onwards she has been a strong advocate for better planning and consultation.
As the City of Port Phillip Mayor for 4 years and a Councillor for 8 years she has been focused on making sure planning carefully considers the existing community and that surround it.
She has a keen interest in ensuring that the FB precincts deliver on the vision and objectives of being a livable and loved business and residential community.
Bernadene has great contacts and relationships with Government and many businesses in FB
She volunteers her time to helping businesses understand what is happening and how to maximise outcomes in FB.
She is a strong advocate for Public transport into FB early and has been successful in advocacy around schools being delivered early into FB - with South Melbourne - Australia's first vertical school, and now Port Melbourne Secondary School.
She is a resident in Port Melbourne and is a committee member on Murphy Reserve - Port Colts Junior footy club, and a member of the PMFC,
Bernadene spent 2 years on the FB Ministerial advisory committee
3 years on the FB Mayoral advisory committee with the City of Melbourne Lord Mayor.
She has a Business IT and marketing background
Committee of Management
Peter Smith
Guy Naselli
Treasurer
Peter is the Principal of Business Profitability a coaching, consulting and advisory firm.
Over the past 30 years, Peter has worked with some iconic businesses and brands, including Apple, Samsung, Telstra,
Carrier and Goodyear.
During that time, he built and led sales teams to ensure the might of these brands never wavered, successfully navigating the challenges of a competitive landscape, margin pressure and fickle consumer confidence.
Guy is a Director of NSL Property Group offering outstanding performance and productivity in all facets of the property including but not limited to, vendors, purchasers, landlords and prospective tenants. Guy understands the vital elements and relationship between performance, productivity and profitability for all parties in commercial real-estate transactions.
Guy knows and has extensive experience in and around Fishermans Bend and is an active committee member.
Eric Nigol
Committee Member
Eric is a Manager at Melbourne Cement Facilities. A qualified mechanical engineer he has been associated with manufacturing for most of his career. He joined to better understand how long standing industries will integrate in the future of Fishermans Bend.
Alison McDowell
Committee Member
We welcome Alison McDowell on to the Fishermans Bend Business Committee. Alison is Director of Roadmap Strategy, a marketing strategy and partnership agency, and Co-Founder of Live Love Work Port Phillip. A multi-disciplined marketing professional, with experience across tourism, destination marketing, conservation and membership organisations, Ali is passionate about building strong brands, engaging members and target audiences achieve business goals and objectives.
Committee Member
