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ABC News
2 days ago
- ABC News
Matt Wright trial hears allegations of cocaine use and COVID-19 breaches
An "anti-vax" crocodile wrangler, a helicopter pilot's cocaine use and the patchy memory of witnesses struggling to recall key details of a fatal crash scene. These were just snippets from an explosive week of evidence heard by a jury in the high-profile Northern Territory Supreme Court trial against the Outback Wrangler Matt Wright. The star of Netflix reality adventure show Wild Croc Territory has been charged with three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice, to which he's pleaded not guilty. The prosecution has alleged Mr Wright tried to obstruct and interfere with investigations into a helicopter crash which killed his co-star Chris 'Willow' Wilson on February 28, 2022. Mr Wright's alleged to have done so with the motive of covering up a culture at his helicopter business, Helibrook, of systemically under-reporting helicopter flying hours — which the prosecution alleges was to avoid costly maintenance requirements for his fleet of choppers. Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC has alleged that after the crash Mr Wright was concerned that his "failure to record hours" would be revealed and "he could be blamed for the crash". Mr Wright is not alleged to have been at fault over the crash. The sole survivor of the crash, pilot Sebastian Robinson, took to the stand this week as a key witness in the prosecution's case, in which he branded Mr Wright an "anti-vaxxer" who allegedly asked him to alter flight records just 11 days after the crash which nearly killed him. Now paraplegic and forced to take breaks from giving evidence every 30 minutes, Mr Robinson told the jury of the life-altering injuries he'd been left with from the crash, from losing the use of his legs to a traumatic brain injury he continues to grapple with. He alleged that in March 2022, Mr Wright visited his Brisbane hospital room, with documents in his hand, and asked him to "manipulate hours on my aircraft". "I was obviously laying in a hospital bed," he said. "I was still in a pretty bad way and very confused, and I knew something wasn't right. "And I said, 'I'd think about it.'" While at his bedside, Mr Robinson also alleged Mr Wright deleted items from his phone, including notes about flying hours – an allegation which Mr Wright's barrister David Edwardson KC described as "an absolute falsehood". "Mr Robinson I suggest that, brain injury or not, Mr Wright never touched your phone and never deleted a single message from it," he said. In visiting the hospital, Mr Robinson also alleged that the Outback Wrangler had broken COVID-19 restrictions, due to him being unvaccinated. 'He was an anti-vaxxer," Mr Robinson said. '[To visit the hospital] you had to have a valid COVID certificate … a certificate of vaccination." As the injured former pilot gave evidence via video link to a packed courtroom, Mr Edwardson turned the microscope onto his past illegal drug use. The barrister questioned Mr Robinson on the extent of his past cocaine use, presenting extracted text messages sent and received by the chopper pilot. In one such message from 2019, Mr Edwardson said the pilot wrote: "Footy players in town and want bags." In another, a text conversation was laid bare with a "distant friend" named Morto: Sebastian Robinson: "Might have to come down Monday, crook as a dog." Morto: "Snorting too much coke out of Matty's arse, bro"? In response, Mr Edwardson said "you certainly know that Matt Wright has nothing to do with cocaine, don't you?" "Well, Morto's saying, 'snorting too much coke out of Matt's arse,'" he said. "Are you telling me you've been snorting coke out of Matt's arse?" Mr Edwardson asked. Mr Robinson was also asked whether he was ever a drug dealer, which he denied. "I've used cocaine before … I used to use it, you know, recreationally, maybe a couple of times a year," the witness said. In blood test results after the fatal crash, the court heard Mr Robinson had traces of cocaine in his system, which the prosecution said in its opening statement was "metabolised" and not to blame for the incident. Mr Robinson was also quizzed as to whether he had ever supplied alcohol to liquor-restricted remote Aboriginal communities in Arnhem Land, to which replied "to sell, no I did not". The court was shown videos of Mr Robinson appearing to share alcohol with an Aboriginal ranger in Arnhem Land, which the pilot identified as a friend from Maningrida. Earlier in the week, the courtroom hosted a number of other witnesses, from fellow helicopter pilots to a crocodile egg industry manager and a CareFlight nurse. Among those was Jock Purcell, one of the crew involved in the egg collecting mission the day Mr Robinson's chopper crashed in a remote paperbark swamp. Mr Purcell, who was an employee of Mr Wright and also featured in Wild Croc Territory, often struggled to recall key details from the fatal crash site in 2022. At one stage that afternoon, Mr Gullaci questioned whether Mr Purcell was being more forthcoming to questioning from Mr Wright's defence barrister than to the prosecution: "Has your memory improved during the course of the day in giving evidence?" The surviving pilot, Mr Robinson, has also repeatedly said in evidence that he can't remember a lot from the time surrounding the fatal crash. With multiple witnesses giving evidence through the trial, often with differing perspectives of the same scene, the jury was evidently struggling. In a note to Acting Justice Alan Blow, the jury asked whether they could have some clarity to help them navigate the "discrepancies" between witness accounts. "Yes, different people have said different things," Judge Alan Blow said in response. A challenging task ahead for the jury as the trial against the Outback Wrangler gets ever more complex, with evidence set to continue in the NT Supreme Court next week.
ABC News
3 days ago
- ABC News
Matt Wright trial live: Pilot in 'crosshairs' after fatal chopper crash returns to stand
The pilot who survived the fatal chopper crash at the centre of Matt Wright's criminal trial will return to the stand for a fourth day of evidence. Sebastian Robinson — who was left a paraplegic after the helicopter accident — will continue to be cross-examined today in the Northern Territory Supreme Court. On Thursday Mr Robinson denied lying to investigators about the cause of the crash when he told police "I can guarantee you I didn't run out of fuel". Mr Wright's barrister David Edwardson KC suggested Mr Robinson lied as he was in the "crosshairs" of being held responsible for the crash. "I just did not want to be blamed for running out of fuel when in my heart I know that didn't happen," Mr Robinson told jurors. The crash on February 28, 2022 seriously injured Mr Robinson and killed Mr Wright's close friend and co-star, Chris "Willow" Wilson. Mr Wright has pleaded not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice following the accident. The charges relate to alleged events in the days, weeks and months after the crash. If you missed yesterday's live coverage of the trial, catch up here. To stay up to date with this story, subscribe to ABC News.
ABC News
4 days ago
- ABC News
Former Genius Childcare boss Darren Misquitta pleads guilty to dealing with suspected proceeds of crime
Fallen childcare magnate Darren Misquitta has pleaded guilty to receiving $120,000 in suspected proceeds of crime from a business associate. On Thursday, the former Genius Childcare boss was fined $4,000 at the Melbourne Magistrates' Court after admitting the money, which he received in 2019, came from a loan drawdown obtained through forgery. Magistrate Patrick Allen did not record a conviction. It comes amid investigations into Genius by administrators who have referred Mr Misquitta to the corporate watchdog over the collapse of the group, which owes creditors more than $80 million, and lawsuits alleging the childcare empire failed to pay workers properly. Court documents show Mr Misquitta received the $120,000 from Lubna Matta, who serves on the board of another large childcare operator where Mr Misquitta is a shareholder, the ASX-listed Mayfield Childcare. Ms Matta herself has admitted to the same offence of dealing with property reasonably suspected of being the proceeds of crime, in relation to the entire drawdown of $300,000. In August last year she received a diversion order from the court, sparing her jail time or a conviction. In a statement of facts agreed to by Mr Misquitta, police said the case revolved around a loan taken out in early 2019 by a business in which Ms Matta was involved in that was a client of Mr Misquitta's at the finance group he ran, Sprint Capital. The business made a legitimate loan application to the Bank of Melbourne for $410,000 to pay out an existing loan and refurbish their IGA supermarket in Fitzroy. But a man involved in the business had a heart attack in February 2019 and while he was in hospital, Ms Matta — his sister-in-law — agreed to manage the finances. Drawing down on the loan required five signatures from Ms Matta and five from her sister. On February 27, 2019, the bank received a drawdown request asking that $300,000 of the loan be sent to Ms Matta's account. The money was transferred and in April, Ms Matta went on to send $120,000 from her account to Mr Misquitta. But Ms Matta's sister's signatures on the form bore "no similarities to her actual signature and have since been identified as forgeries", police said in a statement. "Based on the allegedly false signature it is alleged that the $300,000 was paid into the account of Ms [Matta], of which the accused was paid $120,000, is reasonably suspected as being the proceeds of crime," police said. At hearings this week it was not alleged that either Mr Misquitta or Ms Matta forged the signatures used to obtain the money. But the police statement said he had "dealt with those funds by way of the funds being transferred to his account and the charge is made out". Ms Matta has been on and off the board of Mayfield Childcare, where Mr Misquitta has been locked in a bitter battle for control with other shareholders including Liberal Party figure Michael Kroger. She was appointed to the board in December 2021 as part of an agreement where Mayfield bought 14 childcare centres from Genius. She was a director of Mayfield, which runs 45 centres, until September 2023, when she resigned citing "external professional commitments". But in January this year she was appointed an executive director while the embattled company was between CEOs. She stepped down from that role in July but remains on the board. Mayfield chair Roseanne Healy told the ABC that Ms Matta's criminal case "had not been disclosed to the company". "As a result, the company have commenced an investigation into the matter," she said. She said Mayfield operated under strict governance frameworks and has transparent reporting and accountability measures in place. "As such, we do not condone criminal behaviour of any kind," she said. Mr Misquitta's main business for the past few years has been Genius. At its height, Genius ran more than two dozen childcare centres in Queensland, New South Wales, the ACT, Victoria and Western Australia, and was developing 17 more, while Mr Misquitta lived in a historic Toorak mansion. But in March two key companies in the group collapsed owing more than $80 million, handing control of 25 centres over to administrators. Mr Misquitta declared himself bankrupt late last month following the collapse of his childcare empire. On Monday, his barrister, Sam Tovey, told the court Mr Misquitta does not have a job, his marriage has broken down and he has moved to the Gold Coast. "At the present time he's able to support himself," Mr Tovey told the court. "He's got outstanding issues with his businesses that are going to have to be dealt with." In a July 25 report to creditors of two Genius companies, Vertical 4 and Abacus 49, administrators accused Mr Misquitta of fraud and said they would refer him to the corporate watchdog for prosecution over allegations he breached his duties as a company director. They said their initial investigations had also identified more than $375,000 in potentially unreasonable payments made by the companies to Mr Misquitta, as well as more than $1.7m paid to law firms at his direction that needed to be looked into further. Genius had been trading while insolvent since at least July 1, 2020, they said. The administrators said they were continuing to trade 11 of the centres while they try to sell them. In the Federal Circuit Court, 57 former employees are currently suing Mr Misquitta and Genius alleging late payment of wages and deliberate and systematic failure to pay super. Mr Misquitta has yet to file a defence.
