Waroona abattoir is located in south west of Western Australia. Prior to closure in 1998 it had been export accredited and processed sheep, goats and pigs. In 2014 Gina Rhinehart purchased 50% share of the facility with current owners Milne Agrigroup.

Other Names

• Clover Meats⁸

Current Operation

• Closed. Most recently – 2009³

Location              

Owner

• Clover Meats
• Milne Agrigroup⁵
• Timepath Holdings⁷
• South West Meat Processors (SWMP), D. Delaney³
• Liveringa Station Beef. (2014) – Joint venture between Gina Rhinehart and Milne Agrigroup⁸

Operation

• Still operational as at June 2005¹
• Cattle and Pig²
• Process sheep, goats & Pigs, registered as a domestic abattoir⁴
• Prior to closure was handling 12% of WA cattle²
• Was accredited export, once closed only left EG Green & sons as export accredited at 1998 (Harvey #648)²
• Markets in Asia and US suffered downturns factor in closure²

History

Prior 2008

• could have applied for government grants to introduce technology to reduce kill costs, “would have kept the jobs of many of their workers, one area where abattoir owners have fallen down or have not considered the opportunities which would have been created by the lower costs those technologies would have bought about”²
• “Once it began slaughtering pigs it denied itself exports to certain sheep markets because Muslim countries don’t accept sheep meats killed in a pig abattoir”²

 1998  

• Prior to closure was one of WA’s biggest export abattoirs⁷
• closed for a period²

2007

• Abattoir had been dormant for some time but current owneres (Milne Agrigroup) in discussions with several groups⁵
  • To sell entirely or
  • work in partnership to operate the plant, Milne Group won’t be operating plant on their own.

2008

• June. Reopened⁶
• To be only operated as service kill⁷
  • Aim to process 1000 sheep, 200 pigs per day initially, with possibiity to process cattle latter.
  • offering a 12 month contract up front, guarantees kill space
  • Most other abattoirs are processing their own product with only small service kill
• Operated in conjunction with Delaney Meats also owned by D. Delaney⁶
• Killing sheep and pigs, with capacity for 500 cattle a day

2009  

• Closed 13.02.09. Economic downturn cited as reason³
• South West Meat Processors called in liquidators cited⁶
  • lack of support from industry.
  • Delaney meats also closed but not subject to liquidation

“It was a lack of stock and the world market has not helped, Service kill contracts had backed off 50% and the value of skins had plummeted due to the slowdown in the global economy, the price of skins fell from $7.50 to $3 overnight” Daniel Delaney (60% share of SWMP)⁶

• 40 people lose jobs³
• 42 redundancies⁶

2014

• Gina Rhinehart – Australian mining magnate enters into a joint investment to purchase 2 Kimberley cattle stations and the Waroona abattoir⁸
  • 50% stakeholding with Milne Agrigroup – Graham Laitt⁸
  • 50% share cost $40M⁹
    • Total transaction to establish LSB estimated at $65M¹⁰
  • Entity is named Liveringa Station Beef (LSB)⁸
    • Gina Rinehart Company – Hancock Prospecting⁹
    • Milne Agrigroup parent company – Dowford Investments⁹
  • Reasons for purchase cited – Confidence in Australian food exports to Asia⁸
  • Graham Laitt (Milne Agrigroup) is quoted as saying “LSB is moving away from live exports towards boxed beef”¹⁰
  • Liveringa Station^{8  and} Nerrima Station purchased in transaction⁸
    • 2 properties cover 470,000 hectares and span the Fitzroy River.¹⁰

Sources

1. Parliament Hansard. P. Omodei 17.08.05
2. Parliament Hansard. K.Chance/M. Montgomery  13.10.98
3. ‘Abattoir closure leaves 40 people jobless’ ABC News. 23.02.09
4. WA Meat Industry Authority – as at November 2002.
5. ‘From Famine to feast in WA slaughterings’ The Land 09.03.07
6. ‘Australia – Another meat plant closes’ Farming UK. 14.02.09
7. ‘New Lease of life for Waroona abattoir’ Farm Weekly. 18.06.08.
8. ‘Rhinehart buys into beef business’ Nth QLD Register. 02.07.2014
9. ‘Gina Rinehart buys Kimberley cattle stations’ Beef Central 03.07.2014
10. http:/’Rinehart’s Hancocl Prospecting buys in to cattle stations’ AFR 03.07.2014

Tagged: australian abattoir history, Australian Abattoirs, Australian meat processing facilities, Closed Australian abattoirs, Waroona abattoir, Western Australian abattoirs, Western Australian closed abattoir