Commerce Warrnambool’s efforts to create a website have been undermined by the son of city councillor Brian Kelson, commentary on social media is bitter and personal, there are posters plastered all over the CBD and the backlash has taken on an unsavoury life of its own.

All this  has happened before Commerce Warrnambool has even had the chance to state its case effectively for a levy.

Commerce Warrnambool has failed to sell its message and that inescapable fact is at the core of the impasse.

 Whether this is the fault of Commerce Warrnambool or its opponents is another question. The answer is probably a mixture of both.

The dilemma for Commerce Warrnambool now is that the level of rancour and bad feeling in the community has reached such a pitch that it may be too late for the organisation to turn things around.

Both Commerce Warrnambool and the Warrnambool Traders’ Action Group believe they have the city’s best interests at heart, although the nasty campaign of baseless personal allegations, invective, abuse and sabotage from some quarters has added nothing constructive to the discussion.

Sadly, the time may have already passed for the two sides to find some middle ground, but surely that must happen.

It is no good for WTAG to merely state that it objects and that’s that. 

Wouldn’t it be better for the group to redirect some of the energy from its ‘no’ campaign into finding a workable compromise with Commerce Warrnambool?

For what it is worth and despite the setbacks, Commerce Warrnambool has finally got its website up and running at www.commercewarrnamboolinc.com.au where it states its case for the business levy in detail.

Most of it makes sense, which is why it is such a damn pity the site wasn’t up months ago.