A WAR of words has erupted between Paul Pierotti, the president of Griffith Business Chamber, and local MP Adrian Piccoli.
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Adrian Piccoli believes the Griffith Business Chamber needs new leadership.
Mr Pierotti believes Mr Piccoli should “consult, listen to our concerns and represent us as he was elected to do”.
Tensions had been brewing since the recent state election campaign.
“The Griffith Business Chamber really needs to change its leadership because its current president goes around telling people there are 100 shops closed on the main street,” Mr Piccoli said.
“I counted 11 that were vacant and not all had ‘for lease’ signs.”
Mr Pierotti fired back, saying “the fact that Adrian Piccoli is questioning vacant shops in Griffith's CBD, shows how out of touch some politicians are”.
“Community volunteer organisations like the Griffith Business Chamber are representative of the majority of business owners in the Griffith region.”
The 2015 Business Audit conducted by Griffith City Council shows there are 100 vacant buildings across the city, but new businesses opening have outpaced businesses closing in the last three years.
“His attack on chamber leadership is unjustified,” Mr Pierotti said.
According to Mr Piccoli, Griffith’s supposed poor performance had been discussed in the halls of power.
“I travel around a lot, I have a lot to do with decision makers,” Mr Piccoli said.
“NSW Planning and NSW Department of Regional Development, they get the clips from the papers, and when they see someone talking down your local community they go, ‘things are bad in Griffith’, they give me a call,” he said.
“People from outside Griffith hear about it and read about it and this is the organisation that’s meant to be promoting Griffith and promoting business.
“When the business chamber gets asked for comment and its negative, it’s just driving down people’s confidence, consumer confidence, and it stops people from spending money.”
Mr Pierotti disagreed, saying “contrary to Mr Piccoli's beliefs, Griffith Business Chamber’s message is a positive one and that positivity comes from a strong desire to improve the situation and a belief in opportunities for our region.”
