Around various pockets of Sydney, the relationship between Councils and Business Chambers is often strained.
But The Hills Shire Council and the Sydney Hills Business Chamber enjoy a strong working relationship that has created a positive culture of communication and has led to many regular, successful events that are of great benefit to the business community.
The Sydney Hills Business Chamber held its biggest event yet on August 14: the Greater Western Sydney Small Business Summit was hosted by the Chamber at Norwest Business Park.
Sky News reporter Janine Perrett kept three groups of panellists on their toes with a series of questions from the audience about how we can do better business in Western Sydney.
Panellists included Federal Mitchell MP Alex Hawke, Western Sydney Wanderers Chairman Lyall Gorman, Hills Businessman Jim Taggart and myself, to name a few.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd and Opposition Leader Tony Abbott were invited to attend, but the call of the campaign trail was too loud elsewhere.
The event underlined the ambition of the Sydney Hills Business Chamber. In four short weeks, Chamber Chairman Tony Eades and a team of dedicated volunteers spent countless hours trying to pull everything into place.
The event was a success and they’ve vowed to go bigger and better next year.
An active, engaged and enthusiastic Business Chamber is a good barometer of the local economy.
I’m proud to say that business is going strong in the Sydney Hills and Council will do all it can to assist the business community.
Our Economic Development and Marketing Department offers one-on-one consultations with local businesses in the Sydney Hills, offering them demographic information, local databases and a summary of the area.
This service better equips both new and old businesses with the tools to start targeting new markets in the area.
Council will continue to support local businesses and the Sydney Hills Business Chamber as our region continues to enhance its reputation in Sydney, Australia and the World.
