GREEN WAR ON BEER
NSW drinkers break for border as flawed scheme puts $4 on carton
NSW drinkers are abandoning Tweed bottleshops and crossing the border for their grog to avoid a government hike from a flawed green scheme.
A carton of beer increased $4 this week after the NSW Government introduced its bottle and can recycling laws.
“We have no option but to add the price increase, which will be between $3.71 to $4 on a carton of 24 and around $5 on a 30-pack of cans,” said a Tweed bottleshop owner.
Lovers of ciders, prefixed spirits, soft drinks and bottled water will also be stung.
Traders said trying to absorb the extra cost would put them to the wall. “We have custom- ers who might work in Queensland and live in the Tweed who (said) they can buy their alcohol in Queensland cheaper. You can’t blame them.”
Under the scheme, all bottles, cans and plastic containers can be returned to designated collection sites for a 10 cent refund.
“WHEN it comes to this recycling scheme, the NSW Government really hasn’t got its act together.”
That’s the opinion of The Bay Boozatorium manager Shane Stapleton, who is one of a number of Tweed bottle shop owners struggling to come to terms with the Return and Earn recycling scheme being introduced for the public in NSW on Friday.
Traders and brewers however have been copping the cost themselves of administrative fees since November 1 to pay for setting up the Government’s scheme.
The scheme will see around $4 added to a carton of 24 and $5 to a 30-pack of cans, but the alternative of not adding the Container Deposit Scheme (CDS) impost on eligible alcohol and softdrink products would be considerably more expensive for traders like Mr Stapleton.
“Bottle shop owners on the Tweed, even if they buy their supplies from Queensland, have to add the increase – if we don’t we could face a fine of $458,000,” he said.
“Government officers can come in at any time and demand to see our records to ensure we are complying.
“We have tried to seek answers as to exactly how this is all going to work. We even went to Sydney to put forward our case but failed to get any clear-cut responses from the department.
“We asked why wine and spirits were exempt but no one could tell us. We asked for a delay in bringing the scheme in until Queensland did likewise but no answer, and wanted to know what was to stop Queenslanders going to a vending machine and cashing in – again no answer.”
Mr Stapleton said the NSW Government was fail-
ing to tell the truth about the scheme, especially when it came to the cost of it.
“The Minister is saying it will be good for the environment and that people would be the winner by being able to cash in their containers to get 10 cents but what they aren’t telling everyone is that it is costing more than that to pay for the administration and implementation of the scheme,” he said.
Dave Gordon, the partowner of Dry Dock Bottleshop, said he relied on the loyalty of locals but was now competing with pubs across the border.
“We have held off on putting the prices up and when we did the customers noticed it right away.
“What people don’t realise is that its not just 10c. It is added GST and we also cop an administration fee.”
Coolangatta bottle shop owner Greg Swift said he has had to change his “whole retail strategy to sell beer”.
“If there is one thing you don’t muck around with, especially at Christmas time is people’s beer.”