Spilling the beans on Sydney’s cafe giants
The price of coffee beans is at a 14-year high. Burgeoning Asian economies are acquiring a taste for coffee, and demand is skyrocketing. Within three months, your local cafe is likely to charge about 50 cents more per cup.
The large chains, however, may be able to delay the increase for longer than their independent competitors. But before you swap your local beans for Gloria Jean’s, see if the following stories don’t put a bitter taste in your mouth.
Chocolate-coated human rights abuse allegations
Max Brenner cafe and chocolateria tells the heartwarming story of an Israeli man who left the army with aspirations of becoming a writer, only to become distracted by a love of chocolate. Omitted, is the bit where a corporation now called Strauss Group, bought the brand in 2000. By that time, the Israeli Government had already labelled the Group a monopoliser of products including instant coffee, chocolate and cocoa powder.
As part of it’s corporate donations program, Strauss Group funds the Israeli Army’s renowned Golani brigade, which participated in the 2008 attack on Gaza. Israeli human rights group B’Tselem reported nearly 1400 Palestinians died in the attack, of whom nearly 800 were innocent civilians, including 320 children. The Israeli government disputed the civilian figure, putting it at nearly 300. Ten Israeli soldiers died – four by friendly fire. Three Israeli civilians were also killed.
A UN fact-finding mission and subsequent report accused Israel and Palestine’s Hamas of war crimes before and during the Israeli siege. The United Nations Human Rights Council supported the report and it will be used in the International Criminal Court.
There are now 32 Max Brenner cafes worldwide. Eleven are in Sydney and 13 elsewhere in Australia.
Michael’s missing millions
Michel’s Patisserie was bought by Retail Food Group (RFG) in 2007, owners of Donut King, Brumby’s bakeries and others. The event is conspicuously absent in ‘The Michel’s Story’, as told on their website.
Before becoming the CEO and Managing Director of RFG in 1999, Tony Alford was an accountant for the late INXS singer Michael Hutchence. He is believed to be one of the few people who knows what happened to Hutchence’s multi-million dollar fortune following the star’s suicide in 2007.
Officially, Hutchence was broke, but unofficially, his money was spread throughout tax havens around the world.
A year before his death, Hutchence wrote a will allocating half of his estate to his only child, Heavenly Hiraani Tiger Lily, and dividing the rest evenly between his then partner, Paula Yates, his father, mother, brother and sister. Greenpeace and Amnesty International were to each receive $US250,000.
It isn’t known how much, if anything, Paula Yates or his daughter received, but there were no payments to the other parties. The out-of-court settlement between the controllers of the estate and his mother and sister is believed to have fallen short of their $500,000 legal expenses.
During the proceedings, a Queensland Supreme Court judge labelled Mr Alford “a witness of little credit”.
Michel’s Patisserie stores now exceed 330 in Australia and New Zealand, including 100 in the Sydney region. Mr Alford holds the largest share in the public company, with more than 22 per cent.
Gloria, Gloria hallelujah
In 1995, two entrepreneurial Australians imported the Gloria Jeans brand from the United States to Sydney. In 2004 they bought the international brand rights for every country outside the US, and now operate 900 stores, over half of which are in Australia. More than 120 are in the Sydney region. It is easily the largest coffee chain in the country.
In addition to their entrepreneurial pursuits, the two Australians are prominent within the Hillsong Church. Nabi Saleh is an elder and board member, and Peter Irvine was recently the director of corporate sponsorship (and former managing director) of Mercy Ministries, a charitable arm of the church.
In December 2009, following a Australian Competition and Consumer Commission investigation, Mr Irvine and other Mercy Ministry directors admitted to deceiving young women and girls who had mental health and drug and alcohol problems.
Over 100 (and possibly many more) women and girls ages 16 to 28 participated in a rehabilitation program supposedly involving “psychologists, general practitioners, dieticians, social workers, [and] career counsellors”, as advertised in Gloria Jeans cafes nationwide. A large part of the bill was picked up by the taxpayer.
Instead of experts, the programs turned out to involve exorcisms and harsh disciplinary measures intended to cure disorders such as anxiety, bipolar and anorexia. Three whistleblowers involved in the program said they emerged suicidal and believing they were possessed by demons.
The Ministries also ran a program to “cure” homosexuality. Residents were asked about their sexual histories, and any form of physical contact was prohibited during their stays, which could last many months.
Mercy Ministries, now defunct, had ordered residents files be destroyed. It was required to give $1050 and an apology to each person affected by its mental health program.
by Lawrence Bull
