Latest news with #Alice Springs
ABC News
4 days ago
- Sport
- ABC News
Reg Duff - The runner from the Lithgow Shamrocks
This week on Bludging on the Blindside, Roy and HG discuss the rugby league runners - are they legit? Plan your life around rugby league, Alice Springs centre of excellence, the try celebration approval process, Runner agents - Is this something to consider? Billy Coleman the strongman of Lithgow, Horse racing base camp and where is the boxing TAFE courses?
ABC News
31-07-2025
- Politics
- ABC News
New NAAJA chief intends to rebuild NT Aboriginal legal service after years of instability
Lobbying against harsher crime laws, boosting staff morale and restoring stability and trust are among the priorities the new head of one of Australia's biggest Aboriginal legal service providers says he plans to tackle in his new role. The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) announced Ben Grimes as its new chief executive in July, following a period of deep internal instability. In the past two years, NAAJA has gone through six acting chief executives and been the subject of a string of highly publicised controversies. They include a costly Federal Court case brought by its former chief executive, resignations of senior leadership and the suspension of core legal services in Alice Springs. The organisation has said it hopes Mr Grimes's appointment will mark a step towards stable leadership. In his first interview since being named chief executive, Mr Grimes — who is the former chief executive of the Aboriginal Resource and Development Services Aboriginal Corporation — said before accepting the role, he questioned how much the organisation had improved, but believed it had now turned a corner. "I've been pleasantly surprised at just how much good work has gone on up to this point," he said. "We've got a new board, a new constitution, so a lot of those issues which were raised in the past have actually largely been addressed. So now we're on the rebound and rebuilding phase, which is really exciting to be part of." At the height of the organisation's staffing woes in 2024, just three lawyers were left to service Alice Springs, leaving vulnerable people without options for legal representation. Mr Grimes said speaking directly with staff on the ground in Darwin, Alice Springs, Katherine and Tennant Creek to understand their needs and concerns would be a priority when he officially started the role in September. He said proving adequate training and boosting the number of local and Aboriginal lawyers were among the steps he planned to take to improve workforce consistency. Mr Grimes conceded that some factors contributing to NAAJA staff burnout were beyond the organisation's control and were unlikely to ease anytime soon. In recent months, the Darwin Local Court has struggled to manage the high number of cases being listed per day, leading to a growing backlog of cases. "The incredible court lists and the huge number of people being processed through … there's not much we can do, our lawyers just have to respond," he said. Having worked at NAAJA as a junior lawyer more than a decade ago, Mr Grimes said the explosion of prisoner numbers in recent years and the growing proportion of people on remand was a sign of a "system at crisis point". "Fifty per cent of people in prison haven't been found guilty … it's a sign of how out-of-kilter our legal system is at the moment," he said. Mr Grimes said government funding commitments and an emphasis on policing and corrections needed to be matched with additional resources for mental health services, courts and lawyers. He said he wanted NAAJA to support and invest in Aboriginal community-led solutions to justice, including community courts and restorative sentencing, particularly for young offenders. "If we can nip it in the bud when people are 11, 12, 13, 14 that's going to save us so much down the track," he said. He said NAAJA would be lobbying the NT government to shift its focus on policing and prisons following a series of changes aimed at increasing police powers, restricting bail and introducing tougher penalties for youth offenders. "What they're doing at the moment is not working, it's costing us a ridiculous amount of money and it's actually just setting us up for failure in future and there are much better ways to do things," he said. Mr Grimes is also a linguist and a senior manager at the Aboriginal Interpreter Service, where he played a key role in shaping the existing court duty interpreting system used across the NT. He said access to interpreters for Indigenous defendants was an area he wanted to see improved in NT courts. "We can unfortunately point to too many examples of people who have ended up in prison and it's later turned out they're innocent and the issue was lack of interpreting," he said. Mr Grimes said understanding court processes and outcomes was an essential and often overlooked part of achieving justice for victims and their families, as well as offenders, and interpreters could assist. "Does the victim feel like their voice is heard? Did the victim feel like they actually got to tell their story in their first language?", he said. "If people don't know why a judge is making their decision, it's hard for anyone to think about that and adjust their behaviour in future."
News.com.au
29-07-2025
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Danika Mason cops heartbreaking blow as rugby league boyfriend Liam Knight makes move
Channel 9 presenter Danika Mason has copped a brutal blow with her rugby league boyfriend, Liam Knight, set to spend the next year on the other side of the world. Knight, who signed a deal to join Super League club Hull FC back in March, has set the league alight since making the move from Australia. As a result of his excellent start to the 2025 season, the 30-year-old has been rewarded with a new 12-month contract. While it shows Knight is thriving in his career, it means he will continue to be more than 17,000km away from the Wide World of Sports host, who recently replaced Alex Cullen on Nine's Today Show. Knight, who hails from Alice Springs, was released by the Canterbury Bulldogs last year, after playing just two matches for the club in 2024. He was quickly snapped up by Hull ahead of the 2025 season. Knight was originally set to spend seven months in the UK playing for Hull. But after becoming a fan favourite and one of the club's most consistent players, he penned a new 12-month deal. 'I'm stoked to be staying here – I really love this club and I'm really excited to see what we can keep building over the next 12 months,' Knight told the club's website announcing the news of his re-signing. 'I've really fallen in love with the fans and the atmosphere, both home and away – they're so dedicated. I love the playing group we have here and the coaching staff too – it's a fun place to come to work and that's being reflected in our performances.' While his career is thriving, it is a tough blow to his budding relationship with Mason. The couple's relationship became the talk of the rugby league world last year after Mason split with fiancee Todd Liubinskas in 2023 and called off their wedding, just weeks before they were set to get married. The exact reason for the couple's split remains unclear and became a topic of much speculation among footy and media insiders, with the party line being that it was due to a breakdown in trust. Mason was first pictured on a date with Knight at The Butler restaurant in Sydney's Potts Point in February 2024 before the pair confirmed they were together on Instagram in July. Knight posted a loved-up snap of the pair embracing with the caption: 'My life's good.' Despite the distance that now separates them, the pair have remained together. And while it is undoubtedly hard to be away from his partner, Knight revealed his move to Hull has helped him rediscover his love for rugby league. 'It's been a real ride so far – I got off the plane in March and jumped straight into it,' Knight said. 'I didn't have much of a pre-season, so the first few weeks were about building some fitness, and I feel like I've been building week to week and contributing to the team. 'I had a couple of tough years back home in regards to injury, so coming over to England was a bit of a clean slate for me. I've really found my love for the sport again, so this move has been a massive blessing for me.'
