ALMOST 100,000 condemned beers trucked from Cape York to Cairns must now be moved to Mareeba to be destroyed after an EPA order prevented them being dumped here. 

The condemned consignment of grog – about 3240 cartons of beer from Kowanyama’s council-operated canteen – arrived at the Wanless Enviro Services depot at Stratford yesterday morning to be emptied.

But the shipment had to be shifted yet again after the Environmental Protection Agency told Wanless to dispose the expired cans at a licensed landfill station on the Tableland.

"It is likely that the company will take the beer to the Springmount Waste Management facility near Mareeba which is the nearest facility that is appropriately constructed to deal with this type of material," an EPA spokesman said.

The waste of so many beers has angered leaders of Kowanyama which collectively lost about $425,000 in sales.

The council, along with Aurukun’s council, lost its Supreme Court fight to keep its canteen open following a State Government decision to ban local governments from holding general liquor licences.

Kowanyama chief executive officer John Japp said his community had stockpiled the beer for its tavern for the wet season when roads were cut.

After the canteen was closed, the council began negotiating with Liquor Licensing to sell the beer so it could recoup money, he said.

But he said the Government stalled and the booze expired.

"Yes, the beer’s out-of-date but Liquor Licensing put us in that situation," Mr Japp said.

He said the canteen seldom was the cause of problems in the town and he feared a rise in sly-grogging or drugs being smuggled into the community.

"At least (with the tavern) we had some control over alcohol," Mr Japp said.

Cook MP Jason O’Brien said on Saturday that Kowanyama had options to operate under other licences but its council had left it too late.

Share this article