By Jonty Ralphsmith
A Greater Dandenong councillor has said that Springvale should introduce a chamber of commerce.
Springvale Central Ward councillor Richard Lim has said a chamber would be beneficial for Springvale economically and from a networking perspective.
“My idea is to have a connection of business owners and also with our Springvale ward to council as well,” Cr Lim said.
“It would help the future of business in Springvale.
“Some of the group business leaders support me 100 per cent. The idea is to better advocate for Springvale and attract a lot of people to Springvale.
“I want to meet everyone that wants to be part of the Springvale Chamber of Commerce, meet them personally, spend time together and we will try to make Springvale a busy place in our city.”
Having previously expressed his desire for Springvale to become a tourist mecca, Cr Lim expressed that he does not believe it is possible if a chamber of commerce is not established.
A chamber could lead to more innovative ideas that would assist in making Springvale a more desirable region.
Springvale is currently serviced by the Greater Dandenong Chamber of Commerce but Cr Lim believes the existing chamber is too concentrated on Dandenong.
The Springvale Asian Business Association (SABA) currently serves Springvale, however Cr Lim said a chamber would serve a different purpose and indicated he would sit down with SABA in the near future.
“We need to celebrate, promote and give outstanding businesspeople recognition and encourage them to do even more because we have so much to do in Springvale,” Cr Lim said,
“It will also provide an opportunity for networking.
“The idea is to provide them with knowledge about how to grow and share each other’s success through partnerships. You have to market things very heavily out of Springvale.”
SABA’s position aligned with Cr Lim’s.
Spokesperson and former president Stan Chang stopped short of supporting a chamber, but said the association would be fine with one being established and could continue carrying out its role.
“We are a not-for-profit community group that has been around for a long time and our role is to support local traders and if other people think that it is time to have a formal chamber of commerce, I think it is something we would look forward to working with,” Mr Chang said.
“Because the nature of a chamber of commerce and community group is very different, we do not see it as a competition.
“We will always play our role and voice the concerns for the very basic rights of traders, working on their behalf for (policy-makers), council and the state government and we will continue to do that and if the timing is right for a chamber of commerce, that is fine.
Cr Lim received support from about six business owners for his proposal before raising it a council meeting on Monday July 25.
