More than a million dollars in debt and the Tax Office closing in, “CityNews” editor IAN MEIKLE looks at the failure of “The Canberra Weekly’s” publisher. 

THERE are grave doubts this afternoon about the future of “The Canberra Weekly” and its staff after the company formerly publishing it collapsed owing more than a million dollars to its Sydney printer and $422,955 to the Tax Office.

I say “formerly publishing” it because creditors to Newstate Media Pty Ltd discovered at a meeting in mid-August that the lifestyle/real estate magazine has a new owner. 

Well not so new, Newstate director Nick Samaras, of Isaacs, is also the sole director, secretary and shareholder (100 shares at $1 each) in a new company called Newstime Media Pty Ltd.

Newstime, which took ownership of the “Weekly” and its assets on June 20, is credited as the magazine’s publisher in its contents page, which also lists Samaras as founder and publisher and his ex-wife Julie as editor. 

Newstime was created on June 10 this year, a month before Samaras took Newstate into liquidation on July 11.

Meanwhile, at a creditors meeting on August 15, Newstate’s printer, IVE Group, threatened to wind up the company and its sister company, Newstate Media Newcastle, in pursuit of a $1,050,671 debt. The “Newcastle Weekly” was closed in May. 

In his “Declaration of Independence”, administrator and liquidator Eddie Senatore said he had first been contacted by Samaras seeking advice about the company’s situation on May 3. Senatore said they had discussed options for “safe harbour” and what would be required to implement such a course.

On June 2, IVE Group served its final notice of demand. “On the same day, I had further discussion with the director for the available options to the company, including a voluntary administration and a creditors’ voluntary liquidation,” Senatore’s statement says.

“Subsequently, on June 28,  2022, I was approached by the director of the company requesting I present a consent to act as liquidator to the company. I was advised IVE Group has issued a notice of demand to repay the debt due to it or risk a statutory demand be presented against the company.

“I advised the director there were two options available to place the Company into liquidation – 1) a statutory demand, which IVE Group had advised they were considering, or 2) the appointment of a voluntary administrator.”

It is understood the IVE Group is seeking legal advice about the sale of the business and had also raised the issue of whether Newstate had traded while insolvent.

“Mr Senatore as chairperson advised there may be an insolvent trading claim against Mr Samaras, but preliminary enquiries had found he had limited personal financial capacity to satisfy such a claim,” the meeting’s minutes record. 

None of this comes as a particular surprise to “CityNews” or my family as owners. Our hard-working, ethical sales team has had to compete against the “Weekly’s” panic selling and falling paging as its real estate market largely abandoned it for digital marketing.

The printing industry is small for the kind of work printing magazines. Samaras has moved his printing from printer to printer, at least three to my certain knowledge, and the million-dollar indebtedness of Newstate Media is pretty well where we thought it would be. You’d have to wonder why the printer took so long to seek to recover its debt and who’d take the job on from here.