A boom in bottled water sales has helped drinks giant Coca-Cola Amatil sail to $198.2 million net profit, as the marketing of one of the most readily available substances on Earth steps into overdrive.
Coke’s net profit lifted 7.8 per cent on trading revenues of $2.5 billion for the first six months of this year, primarily from the success of the company’s spring water brand, Mount Franklin.
Analysts reported a 34 per cent surge in the sale of bottled waters in Australia, while carbonated drinks went down by 3 per cent.
Consumer advocates say most of the sales are based on myths, spurred by images of pristine mountain streams.
Is bottled water better than tap water?
UNSW Water Research Centre associate professor Stuart Khan said that with rare exceptions the drinking water across most of Australia was just as good, if not better, than bottled water.
He said the safety protocols around pathogens such as bacteria and viruses were so strict for drinking water that it could often be more pure than bottled water, particularly in Sydney and Melbourne.
“Companies sourcing bottled water don’t have control over what is going on in the catchment,” Assoc Prof Khan told The New Daily.
“They can’t implement things like buffer zones between agriculture and where the water is coming from.
“Sydney’s Warragamba catchment is very carefully managed, while Melbourne water has one of the most pristine and best managed water catchments in the world.
“I am not suggesting it is normal, but there is clear evidence that contaminants, heavy metals, pesticides, bacteria and viruses can and do occur in bottled water as in other water supplies.”
The packaging is getting fancier. Not so the contents.
Marketing tricks and massive mark-ups
Consumer watchdog CHOICE described the remarkable popularity of bottled water, expected to hit $688 million this year, as a triumph of marketing.
CHOICE spokesman Tom Godfrey told The New Daily that with tap water costing less than a cent a litre, consumers were paying almost 2000 times the price they needed to pay and might as well be topping up bottles from the tap or from a jug in the fridge.
“The water market is booming,” he said. “It’s very very big business.”
People are sucked in by words like, pure, pristine, natural, falling for these idyllic phrases. But it comes at a price. ‘Pump’ branded water for example is 1751 times more expensive than tap water.
“What they are doing is selling a dream, an idea that there is a place which is pure. It is completely fictional in many cases,” Mr Godfrey said.
“It is lifestyle marketing. They are getting you to buy into a fantasy, and that comes with a significant price. It is money for old rope.”
While the CHOICE spokesman emphasised that Coca-Cola Amatil’s brands were indeed sourced from springs, he said Mount Franklin was sourced across five states, not just Victoria’s Mount Franklin.
Other brands, such as Nature’s Best, Pureau, Aqua Pura and Refresh are nothing more than filtered tap water.
Smart buyers driving change
Australian Beverages Council CEO Geoff Parker told The New Daily that sugar consumed in soft drinks had fallen by more than 26 per cent and was continuing to fall.
“Today, almost one in two drinks sold are low or no kilojoule. We have seen a fundamental shift away from regular kilojoule varieties to low and no kilojoule options, which includes bottled water. This reflects a more informed beverage buyer, more and more conscious of what they eat, drink and do.”
The Cape Grim Water Company, which collects rainwater on the northwestern most tip of Tasmania, claims to have the most pure bottled water not just in Australia but on Earth. The rocky outcrop receives air which has travelled 16,000 kilometres across the freezing Antarctic Ocean before hitting landfall.
A dispute has erupted over terror training exercises planned for the Queen Victoria Building in central Sydney, with a security specialist describing them as a “media stunt”.
Critics claimed the exercise will alert terrorists to one of Australia’s softest terror targets.
Roger Henning, director of Homeland Security Asia Pacific, described the exercise as a dumb and dangerous public relations stunt.
“Counter Terrorism is about saving lives, not using a media stunt to endanger lives,” Mr Henning said in a press release.
“The golden rules in counter terrorism, are to never arm your enemy with free information, or bait a radicalised Islamic extremist to have a go at a high profile site,” Mr Henning he later told The New Daily.
American security companies are now aggressively marketing such programs to businesses around the country, and the exercise therefore has national implications.
The QVB is a huge tourist attraction for tourists in Sydney. Photo: Getty
The QVB, as it is widely known, is a famous Romanesque Revival style building built in the late 1800s which has been transformed into an upmarket shopping centre.
With a spate of terrorist attacks on soft targets around the world, including clubs and public celebrations, next week, for the first time, staff will be taken through what to do in the case of mass casualty event.
Spokeswoman for the QVB Taryn McGurk said the exercise was to teach shopkeepers how to deal with armed individuals and to ensure the highest level of safety procedures were enforced.
One retailer said: “We are a high-risk tourist building so we need to know what to do if there is ever a situation like this.”
Mr Henning said the QVB was an easy target for terrorism.
“Easy access to the QVB on foot, after arriving by bus, train, or entry from its own underground carpark, is an open invitation to a lone wolf attacker, or for a terrorist cell to stage a co-ordinated suicide bombing.
He said the most ludicrous aspect of the exercise was the publicity surrounding it.
“The naivety of the person responsible at the QVB for sensationalising a security need, with footage of an ‘active shooter’ training exercise, aired on TV, is a real cause for concern.”
Other experts disagreed, saying a display of capability is essential.
‘Not stupid at all’: expert
One of Australia’s most senior counter terrorism experts Allan Behm, former head of the international security divisions with both the Department of Defence and the Attorney General’s Department, told The New Daily the QVB exercise was a good idea. Not to do so would be like never having a fire drill.
The QVB is a soft target for terrorism.Photo: Getty
“These people don’t need tuition on what is a soft target,” he said.
“The threat doesn’t get worse because you identify it. It only gets worse if you don’t identify it.”
Terror expert at the Australian National University Dr Clarke Jones, who helped man the Terror Intelligence Centre for the Sydney Olympics in 2000, told The New Daily it was vital the government and various security agencies show capability.
“It is not a stupid idea at all,” he said. “Australia’s counter terrorism experts have have all highlighted concerns over soft targets, shopping centres, train stations, anywhere large crowds gather. It is very important for the public to be able to see a security presence,”
***Active Shooter Guidelines for Places of Mass Gatherings, aimed particularly at business, can be downloaded from the Australian National Security websitehere.
***Improvised Explosive Device Guidelines for Places of Mass Gatherings can be downloaded here.
Note *** Following a change to the classification system, the National Terrorism Threat Level for Australia has changed from High to Probable. This means credible intelligence, assessed by our security agencies indicates that individuals or groups have developed both the intent and capability to conduct a terrorist attack in Australia. The government urges the public to exercise caution and report any suspicious incidents.
