Sergio Aguiar runs the London Marathon in honour of his daughter Alice
Sergio Aguiar, whose daughter Alice was killed during a Taylor Swift-themed dance class, speaks out after completing the London Marathon in her honour.
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ABC News
4 days ago
- 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
- 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.'
Perth Now
18-07-2025
- Perth Now
Alice Cooper believes Johnny Depp's problems are 'easily fixed'
Alice Cooper is convinced Johnny Depp can fix his "problems" by marrying a woman closer to his own age and reading the Bible. The rock legend has played alongside Depp in their band Hollywood Vampires since 2012, but the 62-year-old actor has been busy dealing with a number of personal issues including long-running legal battles over his relationship with ex-wife Amber Heard, 39. Alice is convinced his friend is now "doing well" but could do with some sage advice for the future. Alice, 77, told The Times newspaper: "I thought if he loses that [second lawsuit] suit, he could go down a rabbit hole and not come back. "But I think he's doing well now and I'm hoping he's gonna come and play with us at our London show. But Johnny's problems are easily fixed. "I keep telling him: quit marrying girls and marry a woman ... "I've read it [the Bible] 14 or 15 times. He'd do well to do the same amount. At least!" The Pirates of the Caribbean actor split from Heard in 2016 and his career went into freefall when she later wrote an op-ed about being a victim of domestic abuse, which led to a lengthy court battle after he sued her for defamation. He won the case and is now getting back to work in the movie business, and he recently insisted he's not holding a grudge. Depp previously told The Telegraph: "This sounds like horses*** but one can simply hold hate [until it] inspires some species of malice in your skull. "Makes you think of revenge. But hating someone is a great big responsibility to hang on to. "The real truth of it, that I won't allow, is that in order for me to hate, I have to care first. And I don't care. What should I care about? That I got done wrong to [by others]? Plenty of people get done wrong." When asked why he took his grievances to court, Depp insisted he didn't want "a lie" to do be the "deciding factor of whether or not I have the capability of making movies in Hollywood." Depp went on to insist he's learned a lot from the last few years and is determined to move on with his life. He added: "Going through all that in real time amounted to seven or eight years. "It was a harsh, painful internal journey. Would I rather not have gone through something like that? Absolutely. But I learnt far more than I ever dreamed I could.'
