Department of Environment and Science probes possible permit breach at White on Whitehaven Long Lunch
Compromising photos from a luxury lunch event on a world heritage listed beach have caught the attention of state government authorities.
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The state government is considering possible action against the organisers of May’s luxurious White on Whitehaven Long Lunch in relation to alleged event permit breaches.
A spokesman for the Department of Environment and Science confirmed officers recently met with organiser Kevin Collins of Airlie Beach restaurant Fish D’vine to discuss “concerns” about the event.
The spokesman said the department was considering introducing stricter conditions for future permit applications.
Among the DES concerns were “patrons allegedly accessing the dunes instead of using bathroom facilities on charter vessels as required by their permit”, the spokesman said.
The department outlined a number of additional permit conditions designed to “ensure there are no environmental or behavioural impacts” from future events, including shifting the event to a different time of year that “historically has more moderate weather conditions”, and reducing the on-beach duration of the event.
The department would also consider “limiting the number of attendees, employing more event staff to manage appropriate behaviour of guests, ensuring attendees only use bathroom facilities on charter vessels, and the use of fencing to manage access to the dunes”.
The DES comments came after a Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority senior investigator personally reached out to attendees of the Sunday, May 30 event in an attempt to gather photographs to potentially build an investigation.
It is understood the permit in question was a commercial activity permit Queensland Parks and Wildlife issued for the two-day event, which took place in the Whitsunday Islands National Park – part of the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area.
It is further understood contributed photographs this publication published, one of which appeared to show several guests urinating into bushes near the dining area during the May 30 event, were what prompted the GBRMPA to act.
Mr Collins previously stated the Long Lunch received $45,000 in state and local government funding.
On Friday, he said he had had “good, fruitful discussions” with the authorities regarding the management of the event and was “absolutely” willing to accept recommendations to improve future events, such as changing the date to a time of year with more “stable” weather conditions.
“Everything hinged on the weather and our capacity to handle adverse weather conditions,” Mr Collins said.
“The main issue was the toilet facilities. We did have toilet facilities on the boat and transfer barges running all day long but unfortunately, in the pouring rain, some people found it easier to go and pee in the bushes.
“That was really the only issue and we’ve got all sorts of plans around that to improve the experience for everyone in the future.
“We hadn’t held an event in weather like that before so it was a bit of a learning curve for us.”
Mr Collins was not aware of any potential penalties he may be facing for allegedly breaching this year’s event permit, saying it was “fairly normal to review and debrief and make alterations” after any event.
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