Vic: Taxpayers have spent $500,000 on bottled water: report

Posted December 5, 2006 in [Water]

BOTTLES MELBOURNE, Nov 19 AAP - Victorian taxpayers have spent more than $500,000 on bottled water for public servants over the past four years, a report shows.

Thirsty agencies included the Department of Human Services ($137,092), police headquarters ($104,498) and the Department of Justice ($96,859), The Sunday Age reports.
 
Bureaucrats say the water is consumed by public visitors.

Documents obtained under freedom-of-information (FoI) legislation show the bottled water doesn't include local police and other emergency stations, schools or other agencies .

"... due to the large number of personnel who purchase and process the payments it is inevitable that some purchases may not be identified," Victoria Police said in response to a FoI request.

Infrastructure, a department with filtered drinking water in its kitchens, spent thousands on bottled water.

Eleven state departments spent $550,504 on bottled water, dispensers and other drinks over the past four years.

More than $35,000 was paid to Coca-Cola Amatil and Cadbury Schweppes, who make soft drinks.

Neverfail, part of the Coca-Cola Amatil group, was paid $224,530 by the departments of human services and justice.

Senior Constable Karla Dennis told the newspaper police regularly worked at events such as the G20 summit and booze buses.

"We believe this expenditure is entirely appropriate and important for the wellbeing of our members," she said.

Department of Human Services spokesman Bram Alexander said: "The majority of people who would be consuming that water would be members of the public or clients in the direct care of the department."