Matt Wright to seek to avoid self-incrimination if mediation talks with Danielle Wilson fail

A court has heard a civil case could attract media reporting and lead to facts being made public that would not form part of the evidence in ongoing criminal proceedings.

Matt Wright outside the Darwin Local Court where he faces work health and safety charges related to the fatal crash. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

Matt Wright will seek a stay of civil proceedings brought against him by the widow of his Netflix co-star Chris “Willow” Wilson to avoid self-incrimination if mediation talks fail, a court has heard.

Danielle Wilson is suing Mr Wright and the Civil Aviation Safety Authority in the Federal Court following Mr Wilson’s death during a botched crocodile egg collecting trip in 2022.

Mr Wright has been committed to stand trial in the Supreme Court charged with attempting to pervert the course of justice in the aftermath of the fatal chopper crash and is also facing separate work health and safety charges in the Local Court. He’s yet to enter pleas to the charges.

The Australian Transport Safety Bureau has previously found Mr Wilson died after he fell 9m to the ground while suspended in a sling under a chopper operated by Mr Wright’s company Helibrook.

In supporting Mr Wright’s application for a stay on Wednesday, CASA’s barrister Peter Ward said “the usual position where there are parallel criminal and civil proceedings raising the same issues” was for the civil proceedings to be stayed.

“The basis for that is twofold, one is the potential privilege against self-incrimination and the impact that might have on the criminal proceedings,” he said.

Chris ‘Willow’ Wilson and (inset) Danielle Wilson.

“The second is a broader interests-of-justice issue as to whether or not the civil proceedings continuing would attract, for instance, media reporting, or would lead to facts being placed in the public arena that are not going to be part of the evidence in the criminal proceedings.”

Mr Ward said if CASA was required to file a defence to the civil action it was “likely to raise matters that would go to issues such as the cause of the accident”.

“(In) the draft statement of claim there are questions there pleaded as to the dangers that are involved in slinging operations and the alternatives available to slinging, for instance, which are matters that will be directly relevant to the work health and safety prosecutions that are on foot,” he said.

“So there is a significant overlap in the claims and … those are matters that might potentially affect the criminal proceedings.”

Mr Wright’s barrister Darryn Kelly said for any mediation to be successful, Ms Wilson would have to provide evidence quantifying any compensation sought.

“There is, with respect, absolutely no point in the three respondents and insurer and broker and potentially other people turning up to discuss how to carve up settlement of a claim when they have no idea what the claim is,” he said.

“End of the day, your honour, everybody’s going to be asking ‘What’s our prospective liability?’ and that fundamentally, is ‘What are these claims worth?’”.

Justice Elizabeth Raper ordered Ms Wilson to file evidence as to damages by April 30 and adjourned the case until May 7 when she will consider timetabling of any stay applications as well as a referral for court-ordered mediation.

Originally published as Matt Wright to seek to avoid self-incrimination if mediation talks with Danielle Wilson fail