Dante Rodrigues: NT kickboxer calls for road safety

An NT kickboxer and community advocate has called on Territorians to take care on the roads over the long weekends.

Dante Rodrigues at International Men's Day Lunch at the Darwin Turf Club Pavilion, Darwin. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

An NT kickboxer and health and wellbeing advocate has called on Territorians to be safe on the roads over the long weekends, as the road toll for 2025 rises.

Dante Rodrigues is a professional fighter who was the first Aboriginal kickboxer and Territorian to represent Australia at an Olympic Games.

Outside of kickboxing he is a keen advocate for youth across the Top End, co-founding the One Percent Program, which works with Indigenous youths to help with personal development.

Now, Mr Rodrigues has spoken publicly for the first time about road safety, in conjunction with the federal government’s “safer driving starts with you campaign”.

Dante Rodrigues and Jahdai Vigona at International Men's Day Lunch at the Darwin Turf Club Pavilion, Darwin. Picture: Pema Tamang Pakhrin

“I think everyone knows the NT is very bad in terms of the rate that we have when it comes to road deaths,” Mr Rodrigues said.

“I think for the last 12 months as well, up until February, we had the highest national rate even.”

Mr Rodrigues said he’d been involved in multiple road accidents as a passenger, and that many people didn’t understand the severity of them until they were in one.

“They’re pretty traumatising, depending how bad it is,” he said.

“When the airbags and stuff go off, it’s a bit of a shock, and it’s not nice.”

He said the campaign was about getting awareness into the community about safer driving, especially as the Territory has one of the worst fatality rates in the country.

“I feel like people just drive and have a couple minor scratches and bumps and then don’t think anything is going to happen to them until one day it does,” Mr Rodrigues said.

“Don’t just leave it up to chance, because that’s when you hop in the car and decide to drive home for convenience.”

“Be safe and plan ahead.”