Ms Catherine King (Ballarat, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Treasury) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Today I want to congratulate and thank Foster’s Group and their CEO, Trevor O’Hoy, for kindly agreeing to return, albeit briefly, Ballarat Bitter—or, as it is more affectionately known at home, Ballarat Bertie—to production. I am sure that to return a beer to production is one of the oddest requests that Trevor has had from a politician, but it is all for a good cause. The HMAS Ballarat has as its replenishment at sea mascot the little brewer, Ballarat Bertie. The ship has recently returned from its first active deployment in the Middle East. I wrote to Trevor in July this year suggesting that one way of acknowledging the outstanding job of this very young crew was to provide a limited release of the beer. Not only have Foster’s Group done that but the beer will also make its way home to Ballarat, where $1 from every case sold will be given to the HMAS Ballarat sponsored charity, United Way.

I am absolutely delighted and cannot thank Foster’s enough for their generous contribution. Ballarat Bertie was the beer of choice for many Ballarat residents and it has an affectionate part in our history. It has not been seen on our shelves since 1991. I know that this week, with the limited release of Ballarat Bertie on the HMAS Ballarat, and its availability in bottle shops later in the week, the people of Ballarat will once again warmly welcome Ballarat Bertie to its traditional home. I thank Foster’s.