A further $85,000 will be provided towards alcohol rehabilitation as a result of Australian Competition and Consumer Commission action in the Northern Territory.
The Federal Court has declared that Rhonwood Pty Ltd (which previously operated the Walkabout Tavern), Woolworths SA and the Arnhem Club contravened the price-fixing provisions of the Trade Practices Act 1974 when they made an agreement not to discount Victoria Bitter beer, Jim Beam bourbon and Berri Cask riesling between 1997 and 1999.
Rhonwood has consented to court orders, and has given a court-enforceable undertaking to provide $85,000 towards alcohol rehabilitation in the Nhulunbuy area.
The $85,000 is additional to the total of $300,000 provided under court-enforceable undertakings by Woolworths SA and the Arnhem Club to an alcohol abuse prevention program for young people in the Nhulunbuy area. Rhonwood had the smallest take away market share of the three participants in the price-fixing arrangement.
"The ACCC is pleased that this matter could be resolved with monies being provided to the Nhulunbuy area to deal with the real problems of alcohol in that community", ACCC Chairman, Mr Graeme Samuel, said today.
"Rhonwood claimed that they ceased discounting as a measure to reduce alcohol consumption. Rhonwood has now acknowledged that commercial reasons were also a factor in their agreement not to discount and that alcohol consumption of at least two of these products, Victoria Bitter Beer and Jim Beam bourbon, did not decrease.
"Consumers are held captive by price fixing conduct and that is why it is illegal. In this instance, people just paid more".
The outcomes of the court action include:
- Rhonwood, Woolworths and the Arnhem Club admitting that they have breached the price-fixing provisions of the Act
- injunctions restraining Rhonwood, Woolworths and the Arnhem Club from repeating the conduct or similar conduct
- the court noting court enforceable undertakings to provide $385,000 in total to alcohol rehabilitation and prevention programs in Nhulunbuy and the surrounding communities and
- payment of ACCC costs.