New Chamber president

The Strathfield Chamber of Commerce has a new president.

Andreas Soulos was elected and Waseem Ghulam voted his deputy by 13 members of the Chamber and around a dozen proxies.

They take over at a time when members are looking for unity in the business community. Some have called for alliances with the Korean Business Association.

The multimillion-dollar town centre project, a huge consultation exercise and the local environmental plan promise to transform the face of Strathfield in the coming years. The stakes for the business community have rarely been higher.

But the Strathfield Chamber's membership is a relatively small proportion of the 4,300 businesses in the area.

Business in Strathfield is crucial to the municipality’s standing and success. The council is well managed, with a surplus. In 2009-10 the estimated GDP was over $3 billion. This includes $269 million in manufacturing, $407 million in wholesale, $131 million in retail, almost $450 million in transport, postal or warehousing, and $121 million in education and training.

The town centre redevelopment is likely to depend on private and public capital, and large tracts of land are expected to be opened up for fresh enterprise.

Measuring the penetration of the Strathfield Chamber of Commerce is difficult. The chamber lists 22 member organisations on its website. Membership costs $50 annually.

Chamber officials point out that there are more members than organisations because multiple people join under one company name.

Strathfield state MP Charles Casuscelli has echoed the call for closer links with the Korean chamber, urging the two bodies to engage more with each other.

“If people keep to themselves it detracts from the community, then everyone is the loser,” he told the Scene.

“I would argue that the Korean chamber and Strathfield chamber should have cross-representation at least, because then members would be able to share the effort on issues and deal with them across community boundaries.”

Casuscelli said issues such as parking congestion in the Strathfield commercial centre had an impact on all businesses, and addressing these issues required “a more energetic chamber” working in concert with other organisations.

James McGhee, a member via his property company Marvay Consultants, said he regularly tried to encourage businesses leasing property to become involved with the chamber.

“It’s a bit like talking into a void, so that is pretty frustrating. No one would really be happy with the level of commitment and membership, and yet the chamber now is probably more active than it has ever been.

“We’ve tried many times to get more business involved, and that includes talking to other chambers, but when the rubber hits the road it just doesn’t happen.” He said he was in favour of “anything that can give it a bit of a shake-up”.

Strathfield Westpac manager David Martin, also a member, agreed “more people could get involved”.

“I think the chamber is doing quite well for now, but I do think there is a lot of opportunity,” he said.

 “The chamber is doing some good community activities, and people do know about it and there is a sponsorship for the events it holds, and that keeps the brand up there.

“But if more members came on board and there was more exposure to what the chamber is all about it, can succeed more.”

Getting the Koreans more involved would be “absolutely brilliant”, he said. “Korean business people have made a tremendous contribution to Strathfield. We are both running in the same direction but we are not connecting, but if we worked together there is a lot that we could achieve.”

 *The Scene is a member of the Strathfield Chamber of Commerce.