Trouble brewing in Labor Party ranks
Marles hits back at fellow MP’s swipe
A BREWERY brawl has broken out in Geelong.
Corio federal Labor MP Richard Marles has hit back at fellow Labor MP Andrew Leigh, who appeared to take a pot shot at Geelong brewery Little Creatures in a recent opinion piece for The Daily Telegraph.
Dr Leigh’s opinion, under the headline “Conned by crafty giants”, complained big brew- ers were buying craft breweries and profiting from creating a “confusion” between beers brewed by big business and those from boutique breweries.
“The megabrewer Lion, for example, spent $60 million refurbishing an old carpet factory in Geelong to create Little Creatures’ first east coast brewery. This is a winning strategy for the big brewers,” Canberra MP Leigh wrote.
Mr Marles has hit back at the apparent insult, defending Little Creatures’ investment in the region, and inviting Dr Leigh to have come and see the beer scene in Geelong for himself.
“Brewers of all sizes are welcome here in Geelong, whether they’re well known Australian icons like Little Creatures, or local up-andcomers like Southern Bay,” Mr Marles said.
“I’m all for large companies making significant investments in our economy, and I’m all for little companies innovating, growing and giving us choice. I’ll happily show Andrew around some of the great local businesses producing great brews next time he’s down.”
Little Creatures head brewer Warren Pawsey said the brewery, which has invested more than $60 million in the region, was going from strength to strength.
“Everyone in our 100strong team is really proud of our place in the Geelong community,” he said.
“We appreciate the local support in making the brewery a success.”
Lion is the biggest brewer in Australia, and its brands include XXXX, James Boag’s, Toohey’s and Hahn, as well as “craft” labels James Squire, Little Creatures, White Rabbit and the hugely popular Furphy.
White Rabbit — which brews out of the Geelong Little Creatures brewery — this year won the Champion Australian Beer and Best Wheat Beer at the Australian International Beer Awards for its White Ale.