Latest news with #SouthAustralia
News.com.au
an hour ago
- Business
- News.com.au
Will Clarken and Niki O'Shea to end training partnership at end of season
Adelaide premiership-winning trainers Will Clarken and Niki O'Shea will split at the end of this season, and train in their own right from 2025-26 onwards. The training duo, who have been in partnership for 2½ years, won this year's Adelaide Cup with Silent Surrente, and nailed last season's metro premiership with 45 wins. • Training out of operations at Sellicks Hill, Morphettville and Murray Bridge over the journey, Clarken and O'Shea have scored 26 metro winners so far this season, and 131 winners in total as a partnership – with a strike rate of 16 per cent. Clarken Racing announced the split in a statement on Wednesday. 'I am writing with sadness to inform you that Niki and I are dissolving our training partnership, and that we will both be training in our own right next season,' the statement said. 'Going into our partnership Niki and I made a pact that despite the outcome or length of the partnership we would walk away as friends no matter what, and we have achieved this. 'Sadly, circumstances beyond our control undermined the sustainability of the business model we based our partnership on. 'To keep the business commercially viable as a dual training partnership we need to have 60-plus horses in full training. Although we have the horse numbers at present, there isn't a viable option in South Australia to accommodate that number of horses. • 'Wasn't in my wildest imagination': Milnes poised for premiership glory 'I am extremely fortunate that I can accommodate 40 to 45 horses across my Sellicks and Morphettville facilities, but we can't stretch it beyond that. 'Over the two-and-a-half years Niki and I trained together we have had overwhelming success. 'Like any good partnership, working together over this time has benefited both of us. 'I've learnt a lot from Niki, in particular with horses running over a trip and I believe I have helped Niki develop his skill set in various ways. 'Niki is currently in Ireland. When he returns and establishes himself, we will be supporting him with pre-trainers, and we will be advising clients to send him horses when we have an overflow.' Clarken and O'Shea have four runners accepted for the final metro meeting of the 2024-25 season at Morphettville on Saturday.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Gap to close in SA's prison placement rules after plea from murder victim's family
A gap in South Australia's prison placement guidelines is set to close after murder victim Michael Purse's family pushed for change after learning one of his killers had been moved to a low-security facility. Michael's father Jeffrey Purse previously told the media of his devastation at learning that Edwin James Hinrichsen, who was convicted of his son's manslaughter in 2023, had been moved from Yatala Labour Prison to Cadell Training Centre in the state's Riverland. Hinrichsen was sentenced beside David Graham Young — both of whom pleaded guilty to manslaughter and were subsequently ordered to serve more than 11 years behind bars. A third man, Mark-Bry Andrew Leedham, was found guilty of murdering the 32-year-old and sentenced earlier this year to life imprisonment with a non-parole period of 28 years — including four years remaining on an earlier jail term. Michael was killed in February 2019 at a unit in Kilburn, in Adelaide's northern suburbs, after he went missing from the Adelaide CBD. His remains have never been found. Mr Purse told the ABC on Wednesday he and his family were "quite stunned" when they learned that Hinrichsen was serving the remainder of his sentence at a low-security prison farm. Upon hearing the news, which was around the same time Leedham was sentenced, Mr Purse spoke to the media, contacted authorities and wrote a letter to the Minister for Correctional Services Emily Bourke. Hinrichsen was subsequently moved to a medium-security facility and a review into his placement is now underway. "The results of that enquiry found that there are gaps in their guidelines and SOPs [Standard Operating Procedures], and therefore, there was no specific exclusions of persons like Hinrichsen to be not admitted into low-security facilities," Mr Purse said on Wednesday. Minister Bourke said she was "grateful to Jeffrey for sharing his story… and advocating for improvements in our justice system". "We listened to his feedback and brought Jeffrey and the department together, enabling an outcome where all recommendations put forward by the review process will be implemented," she said. "Importantly, this includes giving a stronger victim perspective in the case management of serious offenders. "Community safety is paramount and outcomes of this review will strengthen processes in place, with greater oversight on placement decisions made." Mr Purse said he and his family were "very pleased with the result" and compared it to "a bit of a David versus Goliath battle". A spokesperson from the Department for Correctional Services said it took "concerns of victims very seriously" and review panel "put forward recommendations which will be implemented". "These changes will help ensure the department has a stronger victim focus relating to the case management of serious offenders," it said. "Offenders in this category will have a higher degree of oversight prior to any transfer decision made."
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Ponting's Test smokey blasts 200 for Aus A
Ricky Ponting put emerging star Jason Sangha's name in the Test selection mix and he duly delivered with a masterful double-hundred to come away the biggest winner of an Australia A run fest in Darwin. The second four-day match between Australia A and Sri Lanka A was called a draw halfway through the final day when Sangha reached a maiden double century. Sangha, an adopted South Australian, hit a century in the Sheffield Shield final in March and backed it up with an unbeaten 202 from 379 balls on Wednesday. The 25-year-old's haul came amid a shoutout from Ponting ahead of what looms as a crucial start to the home summer for plenty of batters with at least one opening spot up for grabs in the Ashes. 'The start of the Sheffield Shield season will be an interesting one ... I'll throw another name in that I think is a highly talented Australian batsman, that's Jason Sangha,' Ponting told the ICC Review. 'I think (Sangha is) someone whose name will probably come up at some stage as well, but there's just not many games now, not many opportunities to be able to get yourself and get your name up in front of the selectors.' Sangha made the most of batting friendly conditions, which took in 10 wickets for 1043 runs across three and a half days. The previous match in Darwin was also a draw with only three innings played across the four days. Sangha shared a 209-run partnership with fellow centurion Jake Weatherald and a 165-run stand with Victorian young gun Ollie Peake. Peake finished agonisingly short of his century, dismissed for 92 off 178 deliveries. Sangha is one of many state discards who have flourished in South Australia after he was cut from New South Wales. His career stood at a junction at the end of the 2023-24 season when he crossed the border to become a Redback. Sangha produced a brilliant Shield season and has since emerged as a rising star of Australian cricket.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Police seize items for testing during Port Lincoln search for remains of alleged murder victim Julian Story
South Australian Police have seized several items in the resumed search for the remains of Port Lincoln man Julian Story. Warning: This story contains details of an alleged crime that may be distressing to some readers. Major Crime investigators, STAR Group and local police spent Wednesday morning searching Happy Valley cemetery and the dense scrubland nearby, around a kilometre from the Flinders Highway property where Mr Story's body was found in June. The 39-year-old's beheaded and dismembered body was found on June 19, but searches have so far failed to find the local man's head. The search was paused on July 1, but police decided to resume their efforts on Tuesday following the development of new "investigational leads". Police have told the ABC that they seized an Elvis T-shirt, a drink bottle and a wristband from the scrubland today. In a statement, SAPOL said police found "several items of interest". "Further enquiries and forensic examination will be conducted to determine if they are connected with the murder investigation," it said. "No human remains have been located at this time. "Further enquiries will continue on Thursday." After the scrublands and cemetery, police continued their search in the area around Winter Hill lookout before concluding for the day. Wednesday's search follows the excavation of a small area off the Lincoln Highway on Tuesday. Former Beauty and the Geek contestant Tamika Chesser, 34, was charged with the alleged murder of her partner Mr Story, and appeared in court last month. Police believe Mr Story died sometime around midnight on Tuesday, June 17.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- Business
- ABC News
Whyalla steelworks costing less than anticipated to run, but extra $275m still needed
The South Australian government says it will not have to spend as much money as it initially planned to keep the Whyalla steelworks operating through administration, with a $384 million contingency fund revised down to $275 million. As part of an initial $2.4 billion Whyalla rescue package announced in February, the state and federal governments set aside $384 million — split 50/50 — to cover the costs of running the steelworks while they were prepared for sale. But that initial funding was quickly expanded due to the poor condition of the facility, with steelworks administrators KordaMentha flagging earlier this year that it would run out of money by August. Today, the state and federal governments announced they would allocate a further $275 million — also split 50/50 — to keep the steelworks running. This second tranche of funding was initially budgeted at $384 million. But the state government said it was able to revise this down to $275 million because the steelworks were becoming cheaper to run. "The reason for that is that the business is progressively getting back onto a better footing," Premier Peter Malinauskas said on Wednesday. The Malinauskas government tipped the Whyalla steelworks into administration on February 19, stripping ownership of the asset from British industrialist Sanjeev Gupta's GFG Alliance over concerns about underinvestment and a lack of maintenance. The $275 million announced today brings the total amount of public money allocated to keeping the steelworks running to $659 million. Mr Malinauskas said he remained confident the administration would take 18 months, meaning the steelworks would be under new ownership in the second half of 2026. But he did not guarantee that more money would not be needed to keep the steelworks operating. "While it is true that we're a lot more confident about Whyalla's future today than what we were even after the intervention we made, it's also true though that there's a lot more work to be done and there are no guarantees throughout this process," he said. "We budget for what we forecast to be expected, to do better than that is always welcome, but we're not naive to the fact that this still has a long way to go." The extra funding has prompted fresh scrutiny on how long the steelworks administration will take and what the final public cost will be. Daniel Rossetto, from the University of Adelaide's Institute for Sustainability, Energy and Resources, said it was important the public was given an understanding as to "what is the limit of this type of subsidy". Dr Rossetto suggested the Whyalla intervention could also set a precedent, particularly amid the ongoing challenges associated with the smelting industry in Port Pirie and Hobart. "If you're a community, a vulnerable community somewhere else in Australia, and you look at this and say, 'what's so special about Whyalla, why can't our community receive that sort of money as well?'" he said. "So, then you start to raise expectations in the community about the government's appetite to basically subsidise communities that are involved in industries that are in decline. "For the general public … they should certainly be asking questions about what is the value for money of putting this type of hundreds of millions of dollars into this project when there must be 50 or 100 other competing projects around the country who may also feel like they're in need of some funding too." Opposition spokesperson for government accountability Ben Hood said the Liberal Party supported the state and federal government's $2.4 billion sovereign steelmaking package. But he added that "South Australian taxpayer money cannot be used as a blank cheque". "How much more money does the Premier have to utilise from South Australian taxpayers?" he asked. "He needs to explain how long this is going to take and how much it's going to cost until they find a buyer." The Premier said the state government was "absolutely" justified in allocating nearly $660 million to keep the steelworks afloat. "What you have to contemplate is the counterfactual," he said. "Because everything we have learned through the administration process since the intervention is this business wasn't just potentially going to die, it was in the process of dying if not dead already. "That would mean the total collapse of … long-form steelmaking in this country, it would mean the end of Whyalla, it would mean the end of being able to produce rail and structural steel for ourselves. "That would be a pretty dark day not just for Whyalla and our state but for the nation, and the costs associated with that make this investment look very small indeed." KordaMentha formally opened the sales process for the Whyalla steelworks on June 24. At the time the state government said there were "at least 33" potential buyers for the steelworks, with 60 per cent of those coming from overseas. Mr Malinauskas said the number of interested buyers would "start to whittle away" when the formal expression of interest process closed on August 1. "We don't want someone to take this over who can afford to buy it and then do nothing with it," he said. "We need someone who can afford to take over the steelworks and then dramatically invest in." KordaMentha has been using part of the $384 million in administration funding to do maintenance work to bring the steelworks back into a state suitable for sale. After being installed administrators in February, the firm said it was "shocked" by the lack of maintenance at the facility, describing it as being in a "state of disrepair". It also revealed OneSteel Manufacturing, the GFG Alliance subsidiary that was running the steelworks, was losing $1.5 million a day before going into administration.
