The chamber has joined Parramatta Council and Parramatta Chamber of Commerce in condemning the banking giant’s move to the proposed Australian Technology Park in Redfern.
Along with Parramatta Council, the Blacktown chamber wants to close its CBA accounts, while Parramatta chamber is investigating overlooking CBA in future business partnerships.
The bank’s closing of its corporate offices in Parramatta, Lidcombe and Olympic Park will rip thousands of jobs from the west and mean extra travelling time for its Western Sydney workforce.
“The move from the west will have a huge impact on families with parents spending less time with their children - we are talking about the fathers who coach soccer etc,” Blacktown chamber treasurer and public affairs officer Frank Webb told WSBA.
“So the chamber will be looking at which bank would be the best for us, over the next few months and we expect to make an announcement in March.
“The CBA has turned its back on Western Sydney so we are in the market for a new bank that cares about the community.”
While Parramatta Chamber is not considering pulling its CBA accounts at this stage, members were angry over the CBA’s apparent abandonment of the west.
“It is not just this latest move - the CBA pulled out of being the major sponsor of the WSABEs (Western Sydney Awards for Business Excellence) this year,” Chamber president Michael Mekhitarian said.
“This means we will be reviewing our engagement with the bank.”
However, both the chambers have aimed some of the blame for CBA’s move at the feet of UrbanGrowth - the developers of ATP - and, by extension, the State Government.
“The real question is, what sort of incentive was offered to CBA to move to the innovation park and what incentive is being offered to companies to come to the west?” Mr Mekhitarian said.
Mr Mekhitarian said it was “somewhat ironic” that the government’s property developer Urban Growth NSW had assisted CBA’s move to ATP, while being in charge of the Parramatta North Urban Transformation Program.
