Great Northern beer drinkers are abandoning their favourite drop in droves, accusing the brewing company of ‘going woke’ with a controversial campaign.
Great Northern Brewing has vowed to match donations any donation up to $200,000 when customers give to the Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife.
The brewer, which pitches ads around an outdoors lifestyle, kicked off the campaign on January 15 and it lasts until March 31 and aims to raise money to support new national parks.
The move has struck a chord with nature enthusiasts as national parks are more restrictive than state parks and make it harder to camp and bring a family dog.
However four-wheel driving Facebook group 4WD TV was infuriated.
‘In an absolutely disgraceful move Great Northern Brewing has gone woke with a campaign to help get us locked out of forests,’ they wrote.
Leonie Blackwell, who runs the Facebook page ‘Victorians against the Great Forest National Park’, told Daily Mail Australia that Great Northern Brewing would be regretting their decision.
‘It’s really disappointing that major companies like that are blindly buying into supporting issues without really understanding the full context of the impact they will have,’ she said.
Beer drinkers like Marcus Sutherland are abandoning Great Northern after a charity campaign gone wrong
‘They’re trying to look good but they need to have a much bigger vision than just trying to look cool and trendy.
‘I would hope they’re regretting their decision to do this. A lot of people who drink Great Northern also go camping.’
Marcus Sutherland also blasted the campaign in a video he posted to Instagram.
‘We want people to leave our state forests alone,’ he said.
‘This is why people are turning on Great Northern. This why people are saying they’ll never drink this again.
‘There so many debates about whether you like state forests over national parks and like camping with your dog or not.’
Billy Menhennet said he would not drink Great Northern again and proceeded to crush cans of the beer with his foot.
One social media user tipped their Great Northern can out in protest over a campaign
‘What the bloody hell is Great Northern thinking, backing up the idea of locking up the bush. It’s only going to cause more fuel for bigger fires,’ he said.
The Foundation for National Parks and Wildlife will allocate up to 30 per cent of funds raised via its donation page to its administration costs.
Christopher Baker from the All Terrain Action Group said more national parks and less state forests was a bad idea.
‘State forests provide unique conservation for natural heritage and recreational needs of the community,’ he said.
‘Converting state forests to national parks will undermine these tailored efforts and erode the local identity and connection to the land.’
Only $2,286 has been raised so far for the cause.
Great Northern urged its drinkers to donate to ‘help protect the great outdoors’ and support the creation of new national parks.
A national park is an area of land that has been reserved for the protection and conservation of biodiversity, native plants and animals, ecosystems, places of cultural significance and natural or geological features.
State forests offer a lower level of environmental protection and the list of permitted activities is generally broader and includes things like trail biking, authorised hunting, horse riding and dog walking.
In 2010 the Japanese company Asahi, through its wholly owned Victorian subsidiary Carlton United Breweries, announced the launch of Great Northern Brewing.
Great Northern is styled on ‘Cairns Draught’, a product first brewed in 1924.
In 2022 it was the best selling beer in Australia.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Great Northern Brewing for comment.
