Last Friday I had lunch with some colleagues where the changing means of getting together (or more to the point not getting together) with fellow residents and meeting up with local business people was discussed at some length.
It was noted that in Parramatta, our second longest established online community, only about 20 per cent of business owners now actually live in the area.
And we discussed the fact that the hype associated with having the Eels in the NRL finals this year was much less than on previous occasions, with a marked absence of blue and gold bunting, flags or signs of support in local shopfronts.
To be fair, in large part the big end of town (Sydney CBD) has high-jacked the code and poured millions into the sports coffers with enormous sponsorship packages. And the, perhaps unintended, consequence of this change is the gradual breaking down of previous bonds which built on the traditional sense of community or, as the academics would say, increased social capital.
Big corporations such as major sponsor Telstra gain massive, and extremely beneficial, media exposure in all the outlying areas that follow the NRL at a time the telecommunications giant is actually laying off staff there at considerable financial and emotional cost for the employees involved, who have virtually no hope of finding another job locally.
It should be acknowledged that in all the communities YOC operate (Wollongong, Parramatta and Sutherland Shire) there are some outstanding examples of family owned businesses who in fact go a long way towards supporting their local communities. Unfortunately, they are now overwhelmingly becoming the exceptions to the general rule with the increased retail dominance of national franchises and chains of businesses controlled remotely from major metropolitan centres.
The importance of supporting business associations, such as the Business Chamber, local council business initiatives or some of the new networking groups should be acknowledged as at least a few positive ways people in small business can seek to address this unwelcome and negative aspect of global corporatisation.
I believe all tiers of government should change their economic focus and acknowledge that small (read local) businesses are the real creators of jobs in this country and that overwhelmingly our large national companies are either actively downsizing or outsourcing their work overseas.
I would also make the point that Your Online Community (the publishers of this e-magazine) seek to promote local organisations everywhere they can by supporting local amateur sports – with its SportsLive.com.au website and giving preference to local businesses in its Local Online Directories – SmartPages.com.au.
However, the fact remains that if the now well established trend continues and where we reside just become dormitory suburbs with virtually everyone in our families commuting to the CBD each day, then the future of our communities as cohesive and vibrant places to live and interact is at real risk.
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