NT Beverages bought out by Refresh Waters

FAILED water bottling company NT Beverages, which is in administration, and the Northern Territory Government infamously invested in, has been bought out by Refresh Waters

Former NT Beverages managing director Hugh Jones spruiking the plan to build a pumping station and water bottling and processing plant in 2015.

FAILED water bottling company NT Beverages, which is in administration, and the Northern Territory Government infamously invested in, has been bought out by Refresh Waters

Refresh Waters has operated since 1997 and has water bottling factories across the country. NT Beverages Group Pty Ltd went into administration in December 2018, nine months after its first cash ­injection from the taxpayer-backed Northern Territory Infrastructure Development Fund.

The company was the only company to receive money from the $200 million NTIDF set up by the former Giles CLP Government after the sale of TIO.

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NT Infrastructure Development Fund to be axed

In November Treasurer Nicole Manison shut down the fund with some of the money used to pay off the Government’s ballooning debt but the government has refused to investigate the awarding of the money to the company.

The NT News previously reported that court records showed that within the first year of ­operation, as it was spruiking its new Akuna Springs brand as “home grown”, the company was caught trying to sell contaminated, imported Indonesian water which may have failed Australian Food Standards. Refresh

Waters has issued a letter to Territory suppliers advising they are working to restart operations as soon as possible.

Refresh Waters have been contacted for comment.