Latest news with #AdelaideAdvertiser
Sky News AU
4 days ago
- Business
- Sky News AU
Abattoir crisis worsens as major South Australian facility shuts its doors with hundreds set to lose their jobs
Locals in the drought-ravaged SA town of Port Wakefield have been left mortified after a prominent local abattoir announced it would cease operations with hundreds of jobs set to be axed. South Australian meat processor JBS revealed on Tuesday that it would close the long-running Seven Point Pork Abattoir, with 270 jobs set to be axed as a result. The abattoir, which is a crucial local employer and driver of commerce in the drought-stricken town is set to cease its operations in January next year. The shock closure came directly after Coles, a key customer of the abattoir, reduced its purchasing orders amid a move to shift its pork processing to other states. JBS pork division chief operating officer Edison Alvares confirmed that while crisis talks were underway, the outlook remained grim after a key strategic partner stated it would purchase significantly less pigs. "Due to the significant number of pigs involved, and the unavailability of replacement pigs, the Port Wakefield facility is simply no longer viable as a pork processing facility in the short term," Mr Alvares said. "We recognise the impact and concerns this decision has on our valued workforce, their families, and the local community,' he stated. Chris Robertson, an owner of a local bakery in Port Wakefield, told the Adelaide Advertiser the abattoir closure would be the final nail in the coffin for the town after the record-breaking drought had already decimated the community. Ms Roberston said her businesses success was entirely dependent on tourists travelling through the town and that as lay offs continued a lack of demand would destroy her ability to continue operating. 'Over the past six or eight weeks, the three businesses next to me have shut,' she said, adding they all remain permanently closed. 'The RAA has relocated, the seafood place has shut, and the Coles Express has shut, the town is just dying; we'll be nothing but a stop shop town if we keep losing business and jobs,' the local business owner lamented. A veteran employee at the abattoir who spoke on the condition of anonimity said the abattoirs closure would force hundreds of highly trained workers and their young families to flee the already crippled town. 'There's so much heartbreak, so many tears, this has absolutely destroyed us,' the man told the Adelaide Advertiser, adding, 'we are locals and have beautiful families here so we can't just move on that easy'. The decision would mean that various Yorke Peninsula Pig Farmers, who are facing troubling woes of their own, would have to drive an additional two hours to send their stock to the Murray Bridge facility, one of the last remaining slaughterhouses in the area. The town heavily depends on migrant workers and houses a sizeable Filipino community, with many only recently renewing their visas. Another Seven Point Pork Abattoir worker told the Adelaide Advertiser he was aware of a 'few Sudanese boys who had recently renewed their work visas,' adding that they now "actually face the risk of being deported'. It is understood that JBS will only offer redundancy packages to employees who have worked with the company for over a year and would not provide accommodation support to workers if an interstate relocation bid was successful. JBS has also pleaded for its workers to 'remain loyal' to the company and continue in the job for six to seven months before looking for alternative employment, which has caused fury among employees.
Daily Mail
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Aussie actor Mel Gibson's secret Aussie home revealed as the stunning Adelaide property is listed for sale
A stunning Adelaide home once owned by Aussie acting icon Mel Gibson has hit the market. The property, located in the trendy suburb of Ulney, is best known as being the one-time residence of the Academy Award winning actor and director. Current owners Nicole and Karl told the Adelaide Advertiser the property had changed hands twice since it was owned by the Braveheart star. '[Mel's] first wife [Robyn Moore] was from Adelaide and that's what prompted him to buy,' Nicole told the publication. 'It wasn't a very long period of time [that Gibson lived in the home] and it was maybe about two owners before us.' While the celebrity connection to the property is clear, it was also reported that Mel, 69, had technically never owned the property himself. Rather, it was purchased in 1990 under the name of Lasano Pty Ltd - a company that was directed by Mel's Icon Productions partner Bruce Davey. While it's unclear how long Mel was associated with the property, the Hacksaw Ridge actor was a frequent visitor to South Australia in the 1980s, especially while filming third instalment of the Mad Max franchise, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Listed without a price guide, the stunning Queen Anne residence sits on an impressive 1,170-square-metre block. Set across two spacious levels, the property boasts four double bedroom, three living areas and two renovated bathrooms. The remodelled kitchen has granite benchtops, steam and wall ovens and Siemens appliances throughout. A rear extension has also converted a modest balcony into an entertainer's terrace that looks out over lush gardens and an inground pool. The irrigated and low-maintenance backyard boasts climbing jasmine and is dotted with citrus, apple and stone fruit trees. It also sits close to the convenience of Ulney's shopping strip, which offers high-end boutiques, luxe dining and a vibrant café scene. While it's unclear how long Mel was associated with the property, the Hacksaw Ridge Actor was a frequent visitor to South Australia in the 1980s, especially while filming third instalment of the Mad Max franchise, Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome. Also pictured: Tina Turner News of Mel's secret Adelaide digs comes after the actor lost his $14.5million(US) mansion after it burnt to the ground during the recent LA fires. He discovered his house had been consumed by fire while recording an episode on Joe Rogan's podcast on in January and has since opened up to Fox host Laura Ingraham about the tragedy. 'These are things and they may or may not be replaceable but we're still here and I just kind of look at it in a weird kind of a way like a purification,' he said. After learning that his house was about to be destroyed, the actor said he rushed back to the Malibu mansion with his son to grab whatever they could before it all turned to ash. He said the pair only escaped with their passports and a few other important documents while his artworks and books, some of which were from the 16th century and priceless, were destroyed in the flames. 'It reminds me of the old cattle barrons clearing people off the land. I don't know... it just seemed a little convenient that there was no water,' he said. 'The wind conditions and the fact that there were people ready, willing and able to start fires. And are they commissioned to do so or are they just acting on their own volition?' Mel said he knew his house was a goner after he was warned it was in the direct path of the fire but that it was still shocking to see the wreckage left behind. News of Mel's secret Adelaide digs comes after the actor lost his $14.5million(US) mansion after it burnt to the ground during the recent LA fires 'By and large everything is gone. When I went up there there yesterday it looked like Dresden after Bomber Harris got through with it. There's nothing left,' he said. Mel was referring to February, 1945, when British war planes destroyed the German city of Dresden over five hours in a bombing campaign towards the end of WWII. 'My son grabbed like three things and took off and those are okay, stuff like passports and a couple of papers... [but] its tragic, it makes you really sad,' he said. 'There's actually neighbours that I have and I was looking at them and I felt worse for them than I did for myself. 'I look at it as a strange mixture of sadness and almost kind of an elation in a sense. I just count my blessings... it is what it is I guess.' .
Yahoo
22-02-2025
- Yahoo
Family link claim as Beaumont children search resumes
A family member of a key suspect in the Beaumont children's disappearance was related to the trio by marriage, it has been claimed. The evidence was made public on Saturday as the decades-long search to find Jane, Arnna and Grant Beaumont, who vanished without a trace during an outing to an Adelaide beach on Australia Day in 1966, resumed. Excavators took to the site of the former Castalloy foundry hours earlier, where it is believed owner Harry Phipps kidnapped, murdered and buried the children 59 years ago. Independent MP Frank Pangallo organised the privately-funded dig and said a person close to the family has told him that Mr Phipps' niece married a cousin of the children's father, Jim, in the years after they vanished. "That hasn't been previously known and it's another link in this case that shows Mr Phipps could have known the Beaumont kids and the family," he told Adelaide Advertiser. "It's another piece of circumstantial evidence that points to (him) being the prime suspect." Mr Pangallo was joined at the site in North Plymouth by forensic archaeologist Maciej Henneberg, author Stuart Mullins, former South Australian detective Bill Hayes. Large earthmoving equipment also started preliminary excavation work at the northern end of the government-owned site, which is about to be sold off for development. "This search will be the last opportunity to search the area where those closest to the case believe their bodies were buried before new industrial or residential developments are built on the site," Mr Pangallo said. The search will revisit two sites previously excavated along with a third never-before-searched location and is expected to take about a week to complete. Jane, 9, Arnna, 7, and Grant, 4, vanished without a trace from Glenelg beach on January 26, 1966. Their parents, Jim and Nancy Beaumont, told police the children left home with sixpence but a shopkeeper recalled Jane buying pasties and a meat pie with a one-pound note. Mr Phipps has long been the main person of interest in the children's disappearance and presumed murder. Shortly after his death in 2004, Mr Phipps' son, Haydn, was interviewed and revealed he had seen three children at the family house shortly after the disappearance. He also told police he was violently abused by his father as a child. The new search will be the third time the Castalloy site has been examined. In 2013, police excavated an area after claims by two brothers that three days after the children disappeared, Mr Phipps paid them to dig a "grave-sized" hole on the factory site. At the request of Mrs Beaumont, police conducted a second dig in 2018, excavating to a depth of about 1.5 metres before abandoning the effort.
