ACCC ‘all clear’ for hotel sale
Clean up time: Ready to clean up four Western Port beaches in the New year are, above, Mary Iles and Tina Bedford and Josie Jones, left, pictured with the beach hand bin designed by Jones. Pictures: Supplied
Bins on hand to clean four beaches MEMBERS of the Flinders community are gearing up for the Big Beach Clean Up in early January. The four-day “coastal crusade” will include Balnarring, Point Leo, Shoreham and Flinders beaches. “Our secret weapon is the beach hand bin, a nifty little bin designed by Josie Jones OAM,” Flinders Community Association president Mary Iles said. “Josie starts her day by collecting rubbish on her local beaches and has volunteered over 10,000 hours to improve the water quality in Mornington Peninsula’s bays and she is and is now
helping to protect our Western Port beaches.” Iles said a pilot project by Jones had seen small litter reduced by 71 per cent. A second pilot was successful across four beaches, including Mon Repos in Queensland, a turtle nesting beach. “The beach hand bins teamed up with scientists and turtles alike, showing a reduction in litter. Now Josie is bringing this innovation to Western Port.” Iles said members of Flinders Community Association in collaboration with Sea Shepherd and ocean divers
“will be helping clean the beach and under the pier as we protect our pristine marine environment”. “Let’s move from cleaning up after others to taking charge of our own beach waste, one hand bin at a time.” As a lead-in to the big clean up at Flinders on 14 January, Jones and a team of volunteers will be at three Western Port beaches to hand out the little bins: Pt Leo 4 January; Balnarring 5 January; and Shoreham 9 January. The day at Flinders will include face painting, stalls, a coffee cart, CFA sausage sizzle and an art competition
using found objects. “On display you will see an extraordinary map of Australia made up of collected rubbish from the National Geographic Planet or Plastic exhibition and artworks by Liz Walker,” Iles said. Parking at Flinders would be free for the day. “When it comes to keeping our oceans plastic-free, every little hand bin helps. “Together, we can keep our Western Port coastlines pristine, one piece of litter at a time.” Keith Platt
THE Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) will not oppose the Endeavour Group buying the Rye Hotel, despite initial concerns that the proposed acquisition could lessen competition in the supply of takeaway liquor in the area. The hotel includes accommodation and an adjoining independent drivethrough liquor store operating under the Thirsty Camel brand. Endeavour operates BWS Rye and stores in Rosebud and Sorrento. “The ACCC did not have any concerns in relation to accommodation, gaming or meals, given the number of competitors in the area offering these services and Endeavour’s limited presence in these local markets,” ACCC commissioner Stephen Ridgeway said. “However, we did give close consideration to whether this proposed acquisition would lead to a substantial increase in local market concentration in liquor retailing.” The ACCC found unique circumstances meant that the transaction was unlikely to substantially lessen competition in the market. “The Rye Hotel drive through does not appear to strongly compete on price or range, and mostly attracts customers because of the convenience of its drive-through service,” Ridgeway said. The ACCC believed consumers would continue to have access to different promotions, pricing, ranges and service offerings in the area, including at two Thirsty Camel branded stores, Peninsula Cellars and Tootgarook Fine Wine Cellars.
Western Port News 20 December 2023
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