00:00The court has spent close to three hours hearing submissions from both the prosecution and the
00:08defense regarding what punishment Matt Wright should receive for his two counts of attempting
00:13to pervert the course of justice. Wright has been on bail since he was found guilty on both counts
00:19following a month-long Supreme Court trial in August this year. He has been unable to leave
00:26the Northern Territory in that time. This morning he arrived at court surrounded by a large group of
00:32supporters including his pregnant wife Kaya Wright and his legal team. A large number of family members
00:39of pilot Sebastian Robinson who was the young pilot that survived the fatal accident back in 2022 were
00:45also present in court today. In his submissions to the court prosecutor Jason Galacci SC said
00:53Matt Wright's offending did warrant a term of actual imprisonment. He said Wright was motivated
01:00by his fear that investigators who were looking into the crash in 2022 would find out about a
01:06systematic under-reporting of flying hours on helicopters owned and operated by his company.
01:12On the other hand Wright's defense lawyer Luke Officer has been pushing for the judge to sentence
01:17Wright to an intensive community corrections order which would allow Wright to serve a period of
01:23custody in the community as opposed to in a prison cell. Luke Officer said that Wright had been
01:29subject to intense media scrutiny since the accident in 2022. He also told the court that his client was
01:36now teetering on the brink of financial ruin as a result of years of legal proceedings. In the end
01:43Acting Justice Alan Blow said he needed some time to consider all the arguments that he has heard this
01:49morning. The court will reconvene at 3 30 Darwin time.
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