1h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 3:05am

Lunch break

The court has now broken for lunch and we’ll be back with more live coverage from 2pm ACST when crocodile farmer Mick Burns will continue giving evidence.

1h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 3:03am

Mick Burns fights back tears recalling crash scene

Crocodile farmer Mick Burns has fought back tears while telling the jury how he flew to the scene of Chris Wilson’s death.

Mr Burns says he called Matt Wright to ask to be taken to the crash site after learning of the accident that morning.

“I wanted to go out there and I asked to get a helicopter available, he said ‘yes’,” he said.

Mr Burns says Mr Wright flew him to the scene along with police officer Neil Mellon where he approached Mr Wilson’s body and stayed with him for some time.

Under questioning from Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC, Mr Burns said he didn’t see anyone go near the downed aircraft’s cockpit.

He says he did see helicopter pilot Michael Burbidge look in its fuel tank and asked him if there “was any fuel”, to which he replied “yes”.

But he says he did not see Mr Wright look in the tank and did not remember hearing any discussion about the helicopter’s Hobbs meter.

“I remember that somebody gave me Sebastian Robinson’s phone but I can’t remember who that was,” he said.

Mr Burns said he accompanied Mr Wilson’s body back to Darwin on a CareFlight helicopter and spoke to his parents before going to the hospital with Mr Robinson’s phone.

“I gave it to his mother, at the hospital, Darwin hospital, it was that night,” he said.

1h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 2:42am

Croc farmer learns there’s been an accident with one of his crews

Crocodile farmer Mick Burns has told the court he woke up in Melbourne on the morning of the fatal helicopter crash and caught a flight back to Darwin.

Mr Burns said he had contracted the three helicopters that left on the egg collecting trip that day, including IDW piloted by Sebastian Robinson with Christopher Wilson on board and owned by Matt Wright.

He says while he was on the plane he started getting messages and missed calls.

“The first one was just a set of GPS coordinates, which I didn’t think anything of,” he said.

Then Mr Burns said he got a message from one of his employees saying “something to the effect that there’d been an accident and he was calling CareFlight“.

“I think I responded that I’m on a plane and I’ll call when I can,” he said.

1h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 2:31am

Opening addresses conclude as first witness called

Defence barrister David Edwardson KC has now finished his opening address to the jury, with crocodile farmer Mick Burns due to take the stand.

Mr Burns will give evidence about his involvement in the Northern Territory’s crocodile industry over many years.

1h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 2:23amJurors urged to ignore ‘extraordinary’ public interest, ‘scandalous’ opinion

Defence barrister David Edwardson KC has reminded the jury Matt Wright is not on trial for breaching any aviation rules and is not accused of having anything to do with the cause of the crash.

Mr Edwardson offered a “word of warning” that jurors “must confine your task to what you hear in this courtroom and nothing else”.

“There has been an extraordinary amount of public interest in this case and this helicopter crash generally,” he said.

“There have been many ill-informed or scandalous opinions expressed in many different forums, from social media to commercial television.”

Mr Edwardson said it was “very important” jurors “keep an open mind” and “must not prejudge Mr Wright“.

“Please remember there are two sides to every coin and it’s absolutely critical that you not rush to any judgement,” he said.

1h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 2:16am

Secret recording ‘extremely poor’

Defence barrister David Edwardson KC says Matt Wright “emphatically denies” the motive suggested by the prosecution for the alleged cover-up — that he was trying to avoid scrutiny of the crashed helicopter.

He says there is “no contest” that Mr Wright presented the original maintenance release (MR) form logging the aircraft’s flight hours to ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau) investigators.

He said the original MR was photographed by ATSB investigators at the time and Mr Wright’s wife, Kaia Wright, also uploaded a scanned copy to NT Police.

“So on two separate occasions, one physically present and secondly, uploading what is said and accepted to be the original MR for IDW,” he said.

Mr Edwardson said Mr Wright’s third charge of attempting to pervert the course of justice was “based entirely on the prosecution’s interpretation or construction of recorded conversations in the early hours of the morning”.

“It will be for you to assess this recording when played, for that is the evidence that underpins that count,” he said.

“As my learned friend has just properly agreed, the recording, as you will hear, is extremely poor.”

2h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 2:08amPilot’s credibility ‘seriously in issue’

Defence barrister David Edwardson KC has told the jury his client Matt Wright “emphatically denies” the prosecution’s allegations and is entitled to the presumption of innocence.

“Members of the jury, by his pleas of not guilty to all three counts, Matt Wright denies that he did any such thing,” he said.

Mr Edwardson said the Crown relied on recordings made between six and nine months after the event, “in an attempt to make good the alleged” lie Mr Wright told police about the amount of fuel in the crashed helicopter’s tank.

He says conversations between Mr Wright and pilot Sebastian Robinson would also be in dispute.

“The credibility of Sebastian Robinson and his extended family is seriously in issue,” he said.

“Their [evidence] will be critical to your consideration of this count and will require you to conduct very, very close scrutiny of those witnesses.”

2h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 1:52am

Defence to take stand after morning tea

The prosecution has now finished its opening.

Defence barrister David Edwardson KC will address the jury after a short morning break.

2h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 1:51amThe ‘critical passage’ from the secret recordings

Prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC has now taken jurors to what he says “will be the critical passage” from the secret recordings.

“What the prosecution say you can hear is that when the audio resumes Mr Wright can be heard saying this:

‘Just torch it, I don’t know where it is but I’m thinking it’s either there, I’ve got to send it to CASA (Civil Aviation Safety Authority) or the ATSB (Australian Transport Safety Bureau)‘.

“The prosecution case is that what’s being referred to there are the requests that have been made by CASA and the ATSB for the original [maintenance release] for IDW,” Mr Gullaci said.

Mr Gullaci says Mr Wright is then heard saying “I reckon CASA are chasing the original to set us up, I don’t remember signing it”.

“And Mr Wright then says ‘just burn the c***,” he said.

2h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 1:32amWho is Matt Wright?

While the prosecution continues its opening statement in the NT’s Supreme Court, let’s brush up on Matt Wright’s background.

Mr Wright first rose to fame on National Geographic’s Outback Wrangler — a TV program about the wild world of crocodile wrangling in the Northern Territory and a glimpse into Mr Wright’s family life.

(Supplied: National Geographic, Outback Wrangler)

A second program starring Mr Wright, Wild Croc Territory, aired on Netflix in 2022.

The 45-year-old father-of-two is also behind NT adventure tourism company Wild Territory, which offers helicopter rides, airboat tours and accommodation.

2h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 1:32am’Lawyer up boys’ … ‘they will start squealing’

Prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC has taken jurors through transcripts of secret recordings from Matt Wright’s home while the Civil Aviation Safety Authority and the Australian Transport Safety Bureau were seeking an original copy of the crashed helicopter’s (callsign IDW) maintenance release form.

“We say that what is being discussed is the destruction of the original maintenance release from IDW so the authorities can’t get it,” he said.

“[Mr Wright’s friend] then says, according to the prosecution case, ‘Whatever, boys, lawyer up boys, how were you meant to know Matty? How the f*** are you meant to know? You don’t know’.”

Mr Gullaci says Mr Wright is then recorded saying “now everyone, f***ing, now they are starting to put the pressure on everyone, you know, they will start squealing”.

“The prosecution says they’re talking about the investigation,” Mr Gullaci said.

2h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 1:11amPutting ‘the hard word’ on the injured pilot

Prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC is going through the lead up to the day the prosecution says Matt Wright visited pilot Sebastian Robinson at the Royal Brisbane Hospital in March 2022.

Mr Gullaci says Mr Wright went there to put “the hard word” on Mr Robinson to doctor the flight hours recorded for the helicopter involved in the fatal crash.

Mr Gullaci says Mr Wright delivered documents to Mr Robinson pressuring him to transfer flight hours from the crashed helicopter to one of Mr Robinson’s choppers.

He says Mr Wright then turned up at the hospital and asked him directly to doctor the figures “because of the concern he had about the fact that this would be uncovered”.

He said while “there were plenty of people who were doing this under-recording” in the NT, the prosecution case was “about the allegation the prosecution makes of then doubling down on that and trying to hide it”.

3h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 12:58am

A quick re-cap of yesterday

The trial kicked off yesterday with the prosecution’s opening statement.

Jason Gullaci SC told the jury the fatal 2022 chopper crash was not the subject of Matt Wright’s charges.

The crash killed Mr Wright’s close friend and co-star Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson, and seriously injured pilot Sebastian Robinson.

Instead, the charges of attempting to pervert the course of justice relate to alleged events following the crash.

Yesterday the prosecution argued Mr Wright:

  • Did not properly record flight hours, and that flight logs did not ‘add up’
  • Was concerned he ‘could be blamed for the crash’
  • Flew to the crash scene and lied when he told police there was half a tank of fuel in the chopper 
  • Asked a friend to visit Mr Robinson in hospital and get his phone and diary

The prosecution is continuing its opening argument today.

3h agoThu 7 Aug 2025 at 12:35am

Court resumes

Welcome back to our live coverage of Matt Wright’s Supreme Court trial. ABC court reporter Jason Walls back with you.

Yesterday, Mr Wright repeated his pleas of not guilty to three counts of attempting to pervert the course of justice and Crown prosecutor Jason Gullaci SC began his opening address.

He will likely finish by lunchtime today before defence barrister David Edwardson KC takes over.