Liam Jurrah abandons bail application

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By ERWIN CHLANDA
 
Former AFL football star Liam Jurrah today abandoned his bail application and has been remanded in custody to appear in the Alice Springs Local Court, by video link, on May 29.
Earlier today Magistrate David Bamber was told that Mr Jurrah, now on three charges of aggravated assault and one of unlawfully cause serious harm, wanted to change his bail application from Hermannsburg to Yuendumu.
During the early hearing police prosecutor Lindsay Westphal said he wanted to show the court CCTV footage of the alleged events which would demonstrate their seriousness.
During the second hearing Defence counsel Tim Sullivan, from the Central Australian Aboriginal Legal Aid Service, said earlier statements indicating Mr Jurrah would be pleading not guilty should not appear on the court file.
Mr Bamber said now the bail application had been abandoned this was not an issue.
Mr Jurrah appeared in court in shorts, showing both knees to be heavily bandaged. In his second appearance the bandage on the left knee had been removed, showing several injuries.
He was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.

6 COMMENTS

  1. I really think that it is about time that you as a newspaper dropped the this whole case about Liam Jurrah for the sake of Alice Springs.
    It has does nothing to encourage people from other states in Australia to visit our town and see the wonderful sites we have to offer.
    We have Tiger Airlines starting up next week so let us set out sights on the positives of this wonderful town and give all the negatives the back page. All the southern media need to do this as well.

  2. Stephen Smedley – the Jurrah case is just a tiny example of what goes on in the Alice Springs court house on a daily basis.
    The ongoing nature of his troubles is consistent with many others of a lesser media profile.
    If it wasn’t for Jurrah’s interstate high profile – no one would ever get to know what happens on a huge scale in Alice Springs and how the white / black law operates.
    Basically, if the family was allowed to do their own justice years ago – none of this family violence would still be going on and through the courts at a massive expense to the taxpayer to this day.
    The general public is tired of this story now anyway but the framework of it resonates with anyone who knows what is happening in the NT justice system on a daily basis in Alice Springs.

  3. Strange comment from Steve Smedley. Based on peculiar assumption about the role of the media. The Jarrah case raises lots of issues that people of central Asutralia need to confront and seek to deal with. I doubt if Erwin will comply with Steve’s suggestion. Good luck with getting southern media to go along. I wonder if someone has hacked Steve’s laptop?

  4. Stephen Smedley, I personally really appreciated Kieran’s coverage of the trial as it gave a much better insight to what was happening instead of the sensational grab lines of other newspapers, local and interstate.
    I quite understand that some people are sick of it. Especially since that the saga continues.
    But don’t forget that court trials happen all over Australia and indeed the world.

  5. Re Stephen Smedley (Posted April 5, 2013 at 10:11 pm): great opportunity for a major new tourist attraction here.
    We could set up a large chook run, including beautiful riverbed sandpit, on the lawns opposite the court house, and place our local human ostriches on display.
    We just need a bus bay reserved next to the chook pen; as the tourist buses sidle up, the passengers could get close-up snaps of the ostriches burying their heads in the sand pit, and chortle.
    The beauty of this would be an enormous increase in understanding of the peculiar problems besetting Alice Springs, as the powerful metaphor of the business ostriches’ behaviour becomes embedded in the national consciousness, along with the Northern Territorians’ devotion to their fundamental basic rights to buy any amount of alcohol at any time, ignore the consequences for vulnerable people and tax payers, and scape-goat any parties (such as the media communicators) who draw attention to these issues.

  6. Don’t understand Stephen Smedley (posted April 5, 2013 at 10:11 pm). The coverage has been very descriptive and unbiased. The case illustrates the enormous barriers faced by local Aboriginal people to overcome many issues to achieve a degree of success, or basic improvements in their lives. I just hope the system, while being just, is able to assist Mr Jurrah to recover, learn from any mistakes and reconcile with his family and community (both local and wider).

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