Embattled organisers of 'bush doof' musical festival served one final blow after event was rocked by mass gastro outbreak and last-minute cancellations
The company behind a popular 'bush doof' festival which made headlines last year following a mass gastro outbreak has gone bust.
Esothreads, the business that operated the Esoteric Psychedelic Circus Festival, officially filed for insolvency last Wednesday.
The 2025 edition of the festival, scheduled for the Labour Day long weekend in Donald, northwest Victoria, was cancelled at the last minute following a decision by the Municipal Building Surveyor of the Buloke Shire Council.
Buloke Shire Council released a statement explaining it had approved a general permit for the Esoteric Festival at a meeting just days before the event.
However, the required safety permit, known as a Place of Public Entertainment Occupancy Permit (POPE-OP), was denied the following day.
The permit was refused by the council's municipal building surveyor, who works independently despite being employed by the council.
The surveyor listed 33 reasons for the refusal, and the council clarified that councillors had no power to overturn the decision.
The news of the cancellation broke as over 2,000 attendees began to arrive.
Sam Goldsmith, the managing director of the festival, said the cancellation was 'devastating', and was 'bureaucracy and politics gone mad'.
'Since 2017 this event has been a lifeline for Victoria's regional tourism and live music scene, injecting more than $15million into the local economy and supporting thousands of jobs in the Wimmera Mallee region,' he said.
It has been reported that the cancellation resulted in a $2million loss for Esothreads.
Scott Andersen and Nathan Deppeler from Worrells were appointed administrators of the business.
The pair warned in a recent report that the festival's future was in doubt unless it was able to find a vital lifeline.
'In the event there is no interest from any party to propose a Deed of Company Arrangement to restructure the company or purchase the business, the company will not be in a position to hold further festivals,' the report stated.
Some attendees affected by the cancellation are yet to receive refunds, which are now the responsibility of the administrators to process.
And it's not the first time Esoteric has made headlines in recent years.
In 2024, the event was at the centre of a public health scare after hundreds of attendees were struck down with gastroenteritis.
Victoria Health confirmed that at least 260 people reported symptoms of gastro, with some cases linked to the more severe Shigella bacteria.
Shigellosis, the infection caused by Shigella, can trigger a sudden onset of symptoms including severe diarrhoea, fever, nausea, vomiting, and painful abdominal cramps.
Esoteric is just one of many Australian music festivals that have stopped operating.
Dozens of festivals have shut down since 2022, including well-known events like Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, Good Life, and Souled Out.
Creditors will meet with the Administrators of Esoteric next week.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
a day ago
- The Guardian
Australians could be spared excessive power bills as Labor looks to stamp out price gouging
Households could be spared unreasonable power bill rises in the future as the Albanese government looks to stamp out price gouging after repeated price hikes. In an address to the Australian Energy Week on Wednesday, Chris Bowen is expected to announce a review of the default market offer (DMO), which sets a benchmark price for residential and small business electricity bills. The benchmark places a guide on what retailers can charge households and businesses in New South Wales, South Australia, south-east Queensland and Victoria, with consumers encouraged to use it to shop around for better electricity deals. Bowen will acknowledge the DMO's role in preventing egregious price gouging and encouraging competitive prices but will concede it has not worked as well as intended. The DMO is set by the Australian Energy Regulator (AER) in NSW, South Australia and Queensland and by the Essential Services Commission in Victoria. Sign up for Guardian Australia's breaking news email Some NSW customers will face the highest increase in electricity bills from July, expected to be between 8.3% to 9.7%. South-east Queenslanders will be hit with rises between 0.5% and 3.7% and for South Australians rises are expected to be between 2.3% and 3.2%. Victorians, on the other hand, are expected to see an average 1% bump in bills with some consumers in line for a price drop, according to the Essential Services Commission. Bowen is expected to point to Victoria's model as a goal, noting it has significantly smaller bill increases compared to other DMO regions. 'The DMO was intended to act as a benchmark price to stop the worst forms of price gouging, while leaving the job of putting downward pressure on prices to competition between energy companies,' the energy minister will say. 'However, I'll be frank. I don't think it's working that way and reform is needed.' The potential changes to the AER's DMO mechanism could include removing the competition allowance as well as putting further restraints on what retailers can claim back from customers in their bills, Bowen will say. 'The vast majority of billpayers, some 80%, could be getting a better deal. It's difficult to defend the DMO, when the customer is required to do the deal hunting,' he will say. Sign up to Afternoon Update Our Australian afternoon update breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion 'That's why we have work underway to deliver a better regulated pricing mechanism which will put downward pressure on electricity bills and also ensure the energy market better utilises the huge uptake of rooftop solar and batteries.' The competition allowance, or the costs to acquire and retain customers (CARC), is factored into the DMO benchmark to acknowledge retailers' business costs. The AER has already excluded the allowance from the 2025-26 DMO to provide consumers with a small amount of cost-of-living relief. Bowen will also use his address to discuss the $2.3bn plan to subsidise small household batteries for solar power. The energy minister will reveal plans to convene an industry advisory committee in the coming weeks as battery sales outpace new solar systems. Under the scheme, which comes into effect from 1 July, the cost of household batteries will be slashed by 30% for those with existing solar systems or looking to buy one. It's expected to cut the cost of a typical household battery by about $4,000, or 30%, and government analysis shows it could save households up to $2,300 a year, equivalent to 90% of a typical family's electricity bill.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Billionaire Adrian Portelli begs fans to buy EVERY HOME he purchased on The Block after dropping $15 million on entire Phillip Island compound - and failing to give it away in a competition
Adrian 'Mr Lambo' Portelli has revealed he's selling off his entire Phillip Island compound. The billionaire businessman, 35, made history when he snapped up every Block home on Phillip Island for $15.03million last year. However it appears he is ready to let it all go - and has appealed to his fans to take it off his hands. In a post shared to Instagram Stories on Friday, he wrote: 'For Sale. The Phillip Island Block resort selling complex complete. Everything included.' 'Will not sell houses separately' he added. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the DailyMail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. However it appears he is ready to let it all go - and has appealed to his fans to take it off his hands. In a post shared to Instagram Stories on Friday, he wrote: 'For Sale. The Phillip Island Block resort selling complex complete. Everything included' Adrian included a question box where people could 'express interest' in making the multi-million dollar purchase. Last year, Adrian attempted to give away the entire compound in a record-breaking raffle. The house giveaway was earlier marred by technology issues which has forced him to postpone the announcement of the winner. However he got back on track 24 hours later with over 111,000 viewers tuning in on Facebook. Portelli called the winner, a 34-year-old woman from Ballarat called Holly, to give her the good news that she had won. 'Oh my God, no f**ing way. I didn't watch the live on purpose because I thought it would be bad luck,' she Portelli during the call. Holly opted to sleep on the choice between taking $8 million in cash or keeping all five properties. However, she later opted to take the cash, leaving Adrian still holding the homes. Holly opted to sleep on the choice between taking $8 million in cash or keeping all five properties. However, she later opted to take the cash, leaving Adrian still holding the homes. One of the homes is pictured The scheduled lottery through his company LMCT+ had hit a major roadblock on Thursday due to technical difficulties, with Adrian deciding to 'pause' the action. The winner was due to be unveiled at 8.30pm on Boxing Day but the result had been postponed for 24 hours due to the issues. In a video, Adrian explained that the giveaway had closed at 8pm as planned, but due to the sheer volume of traffic on the website, the LMCT+ systems then crashed. During the 2024 finale of The Block, Adrian made history by purchasing all five of the properties for a huge $15million. In his final year of bidding on the show, Adrian ensured Maddy and Charlotte Harry became the youngest ever winners when he bought their home for $3.5million. Adrian's company, LMCT+, has frequently raffled off properties from The Block, including last year's $5million purchase of Steph and Gian's winning home. Shortly after buying up the entire plot of homes on Phillip Island, Adrian then announced his massive 'resort giveaway' through LMCT+.
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Daily Mail
Embattled organisers of 'bush doof' musical festival served one final blow after event was rocked by mass gastro outbreak and last-minute cancellations
The company behind a popular 'bush doof' festival which made headlines last year following a mass gastro outbreak has gone bust. Esothreads, the business that operated the Esoteric Psychedelic Circus Festival, officially filed for insolvency last Wednesday. The 2025 edition of the festival, scheduled for the Labour Day long weekend in Donald, northwest Victoria, was cancelled at the last minute following a decision by the Municipal Building Surveyor of the Buloke Shire Council. Buloke Shire Council released a statement explaining it had approved a general permit for the Esoteric Festival at a meeting just days before the event. However, the required safety permit, known as a Place of Public Entertainment Occupancy Permit (POPE-OP), was denied the following day. The permit was refused by the council's municipal building surveyor, who works independently despite being employed by the council. The surveyor listed 33 reasons for the refusal, and the council clarified that councillors had no power to overturn the decision. The news of the cancellation broke as over 2,000 attendees began to arrive. Sam Goldsmith, the managing director of the festival, said the cancellation was 'devastating', and was 'bureaucracy and politics gone mad'. 'Since 2017 this event has been a lifeline for Victoria's regional tourism and live music scene, injecting more than $15million into the local economy and supporting thousands of jobs in the Wimmera Mallee region,' he said. It has been reported that the cancellation resulted in a $2million loss for Esothreads. Scott Andersen and Nathan Deppeler from Worrells were appointed administrators of the business. The pair warned in a recent report that the festival's future was in doubt unless it was able to find a vital lifeline. 'In the event there is no interest from any party to propose a Deed of Company Arrangement to restructure the company or purchase the business, the company will not be in a position to hold further festivals,' the report stated. Some attendees affected by the cancellation are yet to receive refunds, which are now the responsibility of the administrators to process. And it's not the first time Esoteric has made headlines in recent years. In 2024, the event was at the centre of a public health scare after hundreds of attendees were struck down with gastroenteritis. Victoria Health confirmed that at least 260 people reported symptoms of gastro, with some cases linked to the more severe Shigella bacteria. Shigellosis, the infection caused by Shigella, can trigger a sudden onset of symptoms including severe diarrhoea, fever, nausea, vomiting, and painful abdominal cramps. Esoteric is just one of many Australian music festivals that have stopped operating. Dozens of festivals have shut down since 2022, including well-known events like Splendour in the Grass, Groovin the Moo, Good Life, and Souled Out. Creditors will meet with the Administrators of Esoteric next week.
