High-profile celebrities attending Australia's 2020 think-tank summit could be left homeless—or have to bunk-in with families—to beat an accommodation squeeze in the nation's capital. An investigation by The Daily Telegraph reveals the city will be jam-packed with thousands of interstate and overseas tourists on April 19-20, as the Rudd Government's summit clashes with an international hot-air balloon festival, an art exhibition and a rugby union match. Hotels are also cashing-in on the influx of 2020 delegates who must pay their own way to the historic summit. One hotel near the Parliament House venue admitted it had jacked up rates by more than 50 per cent for the weekend. “We normally keep our rates about $160 a night but not for that one—we only have eight rooms left at about $229,'' a Rydges Capital Hill worker said. Canberra's accommodation is also set to reach breaking-point with the only leg of the Beijing Olympic torch relay in Australia starting days after the summit, involving 1000 delegates to map out Australia's future. With only about 5000 hotel beds in Canberra, conference organisers have admitted finding a bed is “gonna be tight''. The Australian Hotel Association said the city was “not at capacity yet'' for the weekend but most delegates were expected to book late. The Daily Telegraph (Sydney), April 7.
Recycling illusion exposed
The amount of paper and glass packaging being recycled by Australians has been seriously overestimated, a confidential leaked audit of a national recycling report sent to federal and state ministers has found. The draft audit shows figures recorded from the leading packaging company, Visy Industries, included glass recycled from New Zealand, which bolstered the Australian result by almost 70,000 tonnes. The report also took figures from Visy and another company, Amcor, that confused newspaper and office paper recycling with cardboard and carton packaging, boosting the figure by almost 300,000 tonnes. Restaurants were increasingly using waste contractors, who found dumping the glass in landfill cheaper than recycling it, said a source connected to the National Packaging Covenant Council, the government and industry body that manages the environmental effects of packaging. Revised figures show the worst recycling rates are for glass and plastic. It says about a third of bottles and other containers are being reused. Those figures do not include South Australia, which recycles more glass and offers a deposit for returning used bottles, and may not include imported wine bottles. Sydney Morning Herald, April 7.
Flavour: pure and simple
It takes a level of sophistication to embrace simplicity. "Less is more" is a concept that experience teaches you. That experience brings a refined sensibility to cooking, letting the ingredients speak for themselves. After all, when we set out to "have a piece of steak", it's the steak we're hankering after, not the sauce or embellishments which, unless skilfully handled, can confuse things. Just this morning I was chatting with a pair of travellers, one of whom had ordered the abalone dish in a restaurant. Abalone is among the rarest of products on Australian menus as much of the precious catch is shipped off to Asia. The texture and rich, meaty flavour is highly regarded by our neighbours. "How was it?" I asked, "Did you actually get to taste the abalone?” This was of course a loaded (but hopeful) question, having seen far too many shaved little slips of abalone mixed up with other bibs and bobs, camouflaging both texture and flavour. "Ah well, it was done in an Asian style and the Asian flavours rather overpowered the abalone." One continues to live in hope. Canberra Times, April 6.
Water warning for clubs - Licensees face fines if they charge patrons too much
The State Government will crack down on pubs, clubs and restaurants charging excessive amounts for tap water. Liquor Licensing has received anecdotal evidence that some venues have been charging more than $5 for a glass or small bottle of tap water. Treasurer Andrew Fraser warned that licensees could be fined up to $7500—or $37,500 for a corporation. Mr Fraser said tap water should be free, or at worst no more than the cost of a soft drink. He said the Liquor Act allowed venues to charge a “reasonable price” for tap water. “A glass of tap water should be available free of charge or where licensees choose to charge, must cost no more than a soft drink. That's the law,'' he said. Queensland's liquor regulations were amended in 2006 to include a requirement for licensees to make drinking water available to patrons. This was in response to community concern about the lack of water in some venues. There were also complaints that some pubs and clubs had refused to offer drinking water in a bid to force patrons to buy bottled water, or only provided hot water in restrooms to stop bottles being refilled. The Sunday Mail (Brisbane), April 6.
Our green gold
Although wasabi is only distantly related to horseradish, what we get here in those little green squeeze tubes or in powder form is mostly horseradish with green food dye added. In Japan, wasabi grows wild and is commercially produced in the sharp gravels and clean glacial waters of mountain streams where the water temperature remains constant at between 11 and 14C. Known there as green gold, its cultivation is very labour-intensive and is declining because of labour shortages, water pollution and urban encroachment. Accordingly, it is expensive, highly valued by the Japanese themselves and rarely exported. In the early 1990s, wasabi was identified as a potential low-volume, high-value crop suited to Tasmanian conditions, with the Department of Primary Industries estimating that 10ha of the wasabi could return between $3-5m a year. Ian Farquhar liked those numbers and pioneered the crop on his Winnaleah farm in north-east Tasmania a decade ago. Despite experimenting with growing it in soil and in the cold waters and stream-side gravel beds of the Mole Creek cave system, he says those projected returns have so far proved illusory. However, Stephan Welsh has been successfully growing it for seven years on his Arandale property at Perth, the past five years hydroponically, and says he is now confident he's got the growing system sorted out. Sunday Tasmanian, April 6.
The Frenchman, James Packer and the $55 glass of bubbly . . .
French masterchef Guillaume Brahimi divides his passion, in equal measure, between the food he creates and the game they play in heaven. The food, not surprisingly, is French—classical and rustic. And the game, according to legend, is rugby union. Not league, which, if off-field behaviour is indicative, is played in the other place. But I digress . . . As we wait for customers to arrive for the inaugural meal service in Bistro Guillaume, Brahimi's opulent, new $10m establishment in Crown, the kitchen maestro admits to a special kind of apprehension. ``Something is going on in the pit of my stomach,'' he tells me, patting that particular region of his stocky frame. ``It's not nervousness; it's the same feeling I get when I watch a great game of rugby. Not so much a worried feeling as excitement. And anticipation. “How many opportunities does any chef get, in a lifetime, to open a restaurant of their own? This is only my third in 26 years in this business.'' Members of his elite brigade of chefs, however, would shiver at the thought of anything untoward going on in the pit of the boss's finely tuned stomach. Because while he prides himself upon being the most reasonable and diplomatic of masterchefs, and by no means a Gordon Ramsay-style screamer, he is feared and adored, in equal measure, by his underlings. Herald Sun (Melbourne), April 5.
Party time—About-face on drinking to deliver bonanza
The State Government will pocket $4.5m in revenue by allowing pubs and clubs to stay open late despite promising to crack down on binge drinking. Under proposed changes to the Liquor Act, licensees wanting extended hours permits will be slugged up to almost $30,000 each year. But, despite recent promises from the Government to get tough on drinking-related violence, not one of the 140 pubs and clubs which asked to stay open until 5am has been knocked back. Fifteen of the venues were given temporary permits of up to three months because of outstanding issues with Liquor Licensing or the State Government's Commercial and Consumer Tribunal. Alcohol and drugs lobby group Drug Arm said it was disappointed because the high-risk time for violence was in the early hours of the morning. The Government says imminent changes to the Liquor Act will make it more difficult for licensees to acquire permits in future. Under the changes, trading before 10am will be banned, except on ``one-off'' occasions such as ANZAC Day. Clubs Queensland labelled the reforms ``ridiculous'', claiming the Government was only cracking down on sporting, leisure and community clubs, not the venues that contributed to booze-fuelled violence. The Courier Mail (Brisbane), April 7.
Oaks sees room to grow in the cities
Record occupancy rates in many capital cities have boosted the outlook for listed management rights company Oaks Hotels & Resorts, at a time when domestic tourism is flat. Sunshine Coast-based Oaks has focused its attention on properties that offer accommodation across the corporate and leisure sectors. Managing director Brett Pointon said the strategy had served the company well. Most of the company's more than 4000 rooms are situated in capitals, or within a two-hour drive of a capital city. Oaks is now the country's largest company concentrating on apartment management. The CBD markets of Brisbane, Sydney, Adelaide and Melbourne have strong corporate business as well as leisure, visiting friends and family sectors. Mr Pointon said some markets were starting to see rental rate growth, but in others, big expansions had seen the company focus on filling rooms before increasing rates. The Courier Mail (Brisbane), April 7.
Girls go wild in Claremont—Inquiry looms into owner's `layback' style
Claremont Hotel part-owner Craig Hutchinson will be investigated by the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor over his antics in photos taken at the hotel. “Laybacks''—where drinkers lie across bars and have alcohol poured down their throats—violate liquor-licensing policy on responsible liquor promotion. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd feels so strongly about binge drinking that he announced a $53m attack on alcohol abuse. “We will definitely be looking into this,'' Doug White, spokesman for the Department of Racing, Gaming and Liquor, said of the activities shown in photos taken at the Claremont Hotel.
``It is against the director's policy (on responsible promotion of liquor for consumption on premises) to serve laybacks, or shooters.'' Mr White said that if Mr Hutchinson, who also has a stake in the Leederville Hotel, had served alcohol in such a way, he faced disciplinary action by the director or the Liquor Commission. Sunday Times (Perth), April 6.
Regrets and chardonnays: I've had a few, says Thorpey; hotel boss’s farewell
John Thorpe is not a man prone to admitting mistakes. But ahead of his retirement on Tuesday, the outspoken Australian Hotels Association president has admitted his decision to oppose Lord Mayor Clover Moore's small bars proposal and pronounce that Sydneysiders did not want to "sit in a hole and drink chardonnay and read a book" was an error. "I must admit I made a mistake," Mr Thorpe said in an interview with the Herald. "That mistake was I couldn't believe you wanted more bars. I thought we had too many bars." It is now history that after a sustained campaign by Councillor Moore and the Herald, the Government adopted a proposal to allow more wine bars to sprout with lower liquor licence fees and a less complicated application process. At the same time, proposals for extended trading hours backed by hotels were dumped. It was a big blow to Mr Thorpe —and the association—but he insists he is leaving on his own terms. As an act of good sportsmanship, he posed for a photo—wine in hand at the Bambini Trust wine cafe in the city yesterday. Sydney Morning Herald, April 5.
Hotel shortage good news for room rate returns
The lack of new hotels being built in the Sydney hotel market should translate to better returns and higher room rates in the medium term, according to analysts. In the CBD the only new development is by Accor Asia Pacific and Babcock and Brown, who have teamed up to develop and manage two new hotels in Sydney and Homebush Bay valued at about $80m. Of the two, the Hotel Ibis King Street Wharf, will be the first hotel built in the CBD for more than a decade and comes as the sector is regaining the interest of investors and developers. The last big hotel project in the CBD was the refurbishment of the Hilton two years ago. The Accor-managed Ibis King Street Wharf will be an eight-storey 91-room hotel, worth about $30m. Under construction on the corner of Erskine and Shelley streets, it is due to open in the middle of next year. In its latest forecast CB Richard Ellis says a surge in hotel room rates will maintain healthy returns from the Sydney hotel sector and help offset the impact of the credit squeeze. Speaking at the firm's annual valuation and advisory mortgage industry forum in Sydney during the week, CBRE's regional director, Ken Smith, said the hotel sector was the bright light on the horizon given the issues facing some other sectors of the property investment market. Sydney Morning Herald, April 5.
Kurrajong class of smooth service
The Australian International Hotel School at the Kurrajong put its Events and Festival Class to the test with a fundraising dinner and auction the class had to organise. As part of Orion, a global alliance of six leading hotel schools, the Australian school supports Sala Bai, the hotel school in Siem Reap, Cambodia, which provides free hospitality training to young Cambodians. The Kurrajong class earned an A+, if that's how they mark these days, for its effort. From the initial brief, to the raising of $2630 from the auction, it was a team effort attentive waiting and bar staff, technical expertise for the overall presentation, and good collaboration for the all-important menu and wines. Business supporters were encouraged to donate auction items, with the Cambodian embassy making a major donation, and auctioneer Brendan Smyth proved very able at separating cash from the guests. Canberra Times, April 4.
Hong Kong uncorks bid as wine hub
Hong Kong is expected to become South Australia's global wine hub and a major market after it announced it would eliminate all wine tariffs. Hong Kong Economic and Trade Office director Lorna Wong yesterday forecast dramatic growth in the Asian wine trade. Ms Wong and representatives from the trade office were in SA to promote the opening up of the Hong Kong wine market. The office's research shows $7bn is spent each year on wine in Asia, excluding Japan. Ms Wong said the Asian wine market is expected to grow rapidly to $15bn in 2012 and $30bn in 10 years. She believes the decision to remove tariffs will have substantial benefits for both countries and an immediate impact by boosting total wine sales in Hong Kong by $500 million. Australian wine exports to Hong Kong were worth $54 million in 2007. Ms Wong said she expected Hong Kong to become the wine storage, trading and distribution centre for Asia. The Advertiser (Adelaide), April 7.
Local vineyards harvest right message at festival
For Canberra's winemakers, 2008 is shaping up to be a very good year. Vineyard owners reported a harvest up 30per cent on last year, with the frost, drought and locusts that marred recent years staying away. To cap it all off, they had a weekend of autumn sunshine for the Canberra District Wine Harvest Festival. Organisers believe crowds at the festival's 24 venues from Murrumbateman in the north to Pialligo in the south were up on last year's number of about 2200, as awareness grows of the region's wines. The event in its present form is in its sixth year and, like a winemaker sweating over his vintage, organisers never know what nature is going to throw at them. But Canberra District Wines marketing officer Todd Wright said the event had enjoyed steady growth throughout its history. "You are sort of at the mercy of the weather, but it has grown most years," he said. "The harvest is well and truly done and dusted and I think a lot of visitors would have found some very weary winemakers over the weekend." Canberra Times, April 7.
Sushi, salad and soup bite into sangas' top spot
The humble sandwich is losing its place as the number one lunchtime meal choice. Scores of lunch bars and sleek, modern food courts have opened in the CBD over the past two years, offering workers and shoppers more fast-food choices than ever before. Bistros have also been opening at a rapid rate for quick sit-down lunches, catering largely for the business market. Restaurateurs and traders say a swing towards a healthier lifestyle, the hip-pocket squeeze created by rising interest rates and discerning diners have all helped end the sandwich's dominance. Restaurant and Catering SA chief executive officer Sally Neville said her members had noticed a trend away from bread-based lunches. “Low GI diets have supported the popularity of sushi, salads and soups in the fast lunch market,'' Ms Neville said. “The business lunch market, too, has changed to predominantly be one course with wines by the glass instead of by the bottle.” Ms Neville said the change had been driven by more women in business ranks and the increased attention to healthier eating by men. Restaurateur Matthew Trim said the lunch market was all about choice. “As much choice as you give people, they will use it,'' said Mr Trim, who this year is planning to add two city restaurants to Hindmarsh Square's Farina Kitchen + Bar. The Advertiser (Adelaide), April 5.
$900m hit for Constellation
The world's biggest wine company, Constellation Brands, has booked a $900 million impairment charge on its Australian and British assets because of changed market conditions. The write-down includes a drop in the value of the Hardy Wine Company - now Constellation Wines Australia—which Constellation bought in 2003. The book entry, made because U.S. accounting laws require annual reviews, pushed the company into recording a fourth-quarter loss despite strong liquor sales which contributed to a record $411 million in annual free cash flow. “I am confident in our ability to continue to execute our strategy, profitably grow our business and generate strong cash flow,'' chief executive Rob Sands said. The company did not break down the impairment figure, but Constellation Wines Australia said the market had changed considerably since the Hardy acquisition. ``We've seen three very significant things since 2003,'' spokeswoman Sheralee Davies said. “We've seen the Aussie dollar strengthen remarkably - particularly in relation to our U.S. and UK markets. There has been a wine oversupply in Australia, so we haven't had the market clout to be able to push prices through to consumers but have had to absorb price rises. Thirdly, in the very next month after the Hardy acquisition, the UK linked duty to CPI, so there was an annual, automatic increase in duty.'' The Advertiser (Adelaide), April 5.
Alphabet soup of styles makes the big C reign supreme
James Halliday
Whichever way you look at the ABC club, it is alive and well. There are those who loudly proclaim Anything But Chardonnay (and forage in the dreary wastelands of sauvignon blanc and even drearier pinot gris). On the other hand are the winemakers and retailers who know full well that chardonnay Always Brings Cash. ACNielsen data, cited in the January-February Liquor Watch, shows that chardonnay accounted for $320m in sales for the year to October 2007, close to one-third of the value of the total bottled wine market. It also accounts for one in three bottles of white wine sold. With a dose of poetic licence, it is possible to describe chardonnay as having many personalities. On the one hand there is the soft, buttery, peachy, oaky and slightly sweet wine that used to be described as sunshine in a bottle, winning the hearts and wallets of customers in Britain, the US and everywhere else Australian wine was sold. It is de rigueur for wine writers and wine buffs to decry this type of chardonnay, but it is exactly what the larger market wants. Few would-be customers read critical reviews of soap powders or breakfast cereals, and supermarket wine shoppers and drinkers simply don't read wine articles. Decisions to buy fast-moving consumer goods are based on store position and discount headlines. The Australian, April 5.
All fired up as Chinese go quackers over duck ovens
An excited Food Detective has unearthed a red-hot Queensland company selling duck ovens to China. She has tracked down Beech Ovens director Brett Beech and the company's corporate chef James Garton in Beijing, where they're on a tour of duty.
Beech began making pizza ovens for the Hyatt hotel group in 1990, he tells Detective; five years later he turned out his first tandoors (Threesixty restaurant in the Oberoi New Delhi has installed two) and the duck ovens in 2006. Garton tells Detective that after much research the engineering for the wood-fired, stone hearth pizza ovens was translated for a duck oven with high ceilings for hanging the birds and fuelled by gas as well as wood (for efficiency and flavour). The ovens have “great visuals”, Garton says. Hotels with open kitchens have requested customised windows and internal spotlights, and the stone floor is made of refractory-made tiles that look like cobblestones. About 60 to 70 Beech ovens are installed across the world, including in many of China's leading hotels. The beauty of the ovens, Garton says, is that they are custom made so private homes, restaurants and hotels can order them in different sizes. The Australian, April 5.
Local wine exports are well and truly on track
A potential bottleneck in the export of more than $1.2bn of South Australian wine annually was removed yesterday, with the opening of a new privately-funded rail facility at Outer Harbor. The $4m railhead will link the Outer Harbor rail line with the operational hub of Australia's largest wine logistics company Mackenzie Intermodal. Mackenzie Intermodal managing director Lynton Mackenzie said the new siding would help streamline its export wine business of more than 16,000 containers a year. Mr Mackenzie said the new infrastructure would help it more efficiently move about 20 million cases of wine around the globe on behalf of major wine producers, including the Foster's Group. The siding will allow it to bring five trains a week into the Mackenzie Intermodal facility and help ease the load on the state's road system. “The Australian wine industry's international competitiveness depends on high quality, highly efficient routes to our markets around the world,'' he said. The Advertiser, April 4.
Brekkie is hottest thing out
Forget toast and Vegemite and instant coffee -- the new dinner is, well, breakfast, writes Genevieve Morton The Richardsons love eating breakfast out. Dad Steve likes a classic big breakfast, mum Shalee likes pikelets and Harry, two, is mad about chorizo sausages and the froth from his dad's cappuccino. Baby Toby, five weeks old, often sleeps peacefully through it at their favourite cafe, the Macquarie Street Foodstore in South Hobart. “If Harry was older, he'd be in the coffee set. He's such a social butterfly when we go out for breakfast,'' Mrs Richardson said. “My husband has always called me the breakfast queen. I could go out every day with family or girlfriends. I love it.” The Richardsons, from Kingston, are among the legions of breakfast lovers travelling beyond Salamanca and the city centre to suburban cafes specialising in breakfast fare. Owners and patrons agree breakfast has never been hotter. “It's a fashion thing,'' says Smith Street Store owner Amery Waterhouse. “People are discovering backstreet cafes for breakfast and, on a Saturday morning, they just keep coming and coming.'' The North Hobart cafe serves more than 70 breakfasts before noon on Saturdays. Sunday Tasmanian, April 6.
Coffee good for mind
A daily dose of coffee with your doughnut could help prevent Alzheimer's disease, a new study shows. Caffeine blocks the disruptive effects of high cholesterol that can trigger Alzheimer's, researchers from the University of North Dakota have found. The caffeine equivalent of one cup of coffee is enough to protect the blood-brain barrier from the damage caused by a high-fat diet. Cholesterol breaks down the barrier which protects the nervous system from contamination. The Advertiser,
April 5.
Start farming back yards—Mayor says food flies too far, so ...
The Lord Mayor is calling on Brisbane ratepayers to grow their own fruit and vegetables, claiming food for an average family barbecue travels a distance tantamount to five times around the world. Cr Campbell Newman said barbecue ingredients such as salads, meat and bread rolls had travelled ``190,000km'' to our dinner plates. But environmentalists questioned whether there would be enough water if the Brisbane population turned into amateur gardeners, while others warned some home produce could prove toxic. Cr Newman said the distance travelled by average barbecue food would be the equivalent of 3000 cars driving to Cairns and back. Cr Newman yesterday refused to comment on his calculations or how he reached his conclusions. The Courier Mail, April 3.
A shandy is dandy
Try telling Kimberley Hatchett and her husband Tim Sporre that men and women are created equal. As far as they are concerned, when it comes to a cool refreshing beer, there are two separate stories. For men, there is the more robust, darker beer. For women, pale ale with a twist. But more than just shoving a wedge of lemon or lime down a bottle's neck, the pair have taken the women's beer back to the 1950s by developing a 21st century take on the “shandy”. Their new Zest beer is marketed with the female drinker in mind, with the pale ale coming with a lower alcohol content and infused with citrus fruit flavours of lemon or lime. More than a year after their initial launch, they are confident they are on their way to being successful niche brewers because of their research and their understanding of the nuances of marketing. Identifying a gap in the market, they spent months making batches to determine what they thought would be the perfect taste for women drinkers.
Packaging is also different from that wrapping male-type beer, with bright citrus colours and softer graphics. The Daily Telegraph, April 7.