Mainstreet Australia president Steve Bentley urged Warrnambool retailers to back a controversial marketing levy, which he believed would pay big dividends given time.

The rates-linked program to bankroll Commerce Warrnambool has divided the city’s commercial sector since it was opened up for public comment last month.

Commerce Warrnambool claims the levy will on average cost most businesses between $300 to $500 per annum, with very few operators paying more than $5000 each year. 

Mr Bentley, who is also City of Geelong central events manager, said the rates-linked program had proved to be particularly successful in his home city since it was introduced in 2001.

“Smaller retailers have a lot of battles to fight at the moment — internet shopping is sucking away foot traffic in regional cities, bigger shopping centres offer sweeteners and people aren’t spending the same amount of cash they were five or 10 years ago in their home town.”

The Mainstreet Australia president said for every one dollar spent on the Geelong marketing program by the city’s proprietors, seven dollars is returned to cash registers.

“Most people want a chamber of commerce and I understand that’s the case in Warrnambool,” Mr Bentley said. 

“The problem is, if you don’t have a rates-linked program to keep it running, it will fail. 

“Voluntary organisations attract hard workers and hangers-on. 

“The hard workers get burnt out and the organisation folds, it is the same old story with any commerce group. 

“Business people are by their very nature busy.”

Mr Bentley said Geelong had bankrolled a number of “shopper magnets” through the scheme, such as a $30,000 car giveaway and farmers’ markets.

“You need something to drag shoppers in, get them off the computer or out of the big shopping centres and into the small stores,” he said.

“These type of initiatives really do work.”

alex.sinnott@fairfaxmedia.com.au