General News
14 January, 2025
Doubt still lingers over the future of Mount Isa Rodeo
There is an impasse between Mount Isa City Council and administrator SV Partners over a $1 million offer.
The short-term future of the Mount Isa Rodeo is still up in the air as tension grows between the administrator, creditors and two of Mount Isa’s civic leaders.
North West Weekly can also reveal that legal letters have been exchanged between Mount Isa City Council and administrator SV Partners.
Prior to Christmas, it appeared that a solution was on the horizon as the state government handed $2 million of unspent money from the Mount Isa Transition Fund to the council.
However, mayor Peta MacRae said just $1 million would be sent to creditors of Isa Rodeo Ltd, which went into voluntary administration in October.
Cr MacRae also joined forces with Traeger MP Robbie Katter to announce a new “community committee” on December 20 that would lead the Mount Isa Rodeo into the future.
The announcement has caused division – both in the Mount Isa community and amongst creditors.
Many creditors, including Leichhardt Accommodation owner Glen Ashmore, want the council to allocate the full $2 million to Isa Rodeo Ltd, ensuring that businesses owed money are paid in full and that leftover funds would go towards the rodeo.
Mr Ashmore is owed more than $100,000 and has yet to see any money since the rodeo was held in August.
Other creditors believe the council’s $1 million offer is a good deal that’s unlikely to be matched by any other organisation.
“We just want this to be over and we don’t want the rodeo to die,” one creditor said.
North West Weekly understands that Cr MacRae is not willing to budge on the offer.
In the legal letter sent to SV Partners, it reiterated the council’s offer of $1 million, which would also see Isa Rodeo Ltd and the iconic Mount Isa Rodeo’s intellectual property returned to the community.
However, there is already concern among members of the “community committee” that creditors would be left unpaid while the event continued.
North West Weekly has been informed that prominent figures on the "committee" have spoken to SV Partners about a medium-to-long-term plan that would see creditors paid back in full over several years.
“We need to get (administrator Michael Brennan) at the table and talk it through,” one of the committee members said, asking not to be named.
“If they can accept this $1 million now and hand over Isa Rodeo Ltd to us, that gives us the ability to put on the rodeo and maintain things like insurance and sponsorship.
“The problem we have at the moment is that the mayor and Robbie Katter are not talking with the administrator.
“We also have a problem in that the administrator keeps moving the goal posts on how much funding is required. The costs keep going up.
“At this stage, if nothing happens in the next couple of weeks I think a few people on the committee are prepared to walk away.”
Creditors confirmed to North West Weekly that they had not been informed of the council’s legal letter to SV Partners, which not only outlined its offer, but also said that any extra legal fees incurred during the process would be subtracted from the $1 million offer.
“I’m not sure why SV Partners is keeping us in the dark ... we still don’t have a date for the next creditors meeting,” one creditor said.
SV Partners has refused to be interviewed by North West Weekly for several months.
In a letter to Cr MacRae on December 20, Mr Brennan wrote: “I request that the council urgently address the following concerns that may give rise to the likelihood of illegal phoenix activity.”
Mr Brennan also told creditors that the council’s $1 million would pay approximately 66 cents in the dollar and leave “absolutely zero funds” to fund the 2025 rodeo.