this post was submitted on 15 Sep 2025
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136
Hit-run driver Jake Danby spared jail time by NT Supreme Court after describing victim as an 'oxygen thief' (www.abc.net.au)
submitted 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) by hanrahan@slrpnk.net to c/australia@aussie.zone
24 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

A 24-year-old man who hit two Aboriginal pedestrians with his car and sped away, later bragging to his friends he'd run down an "oxygen thief", has been spared actual jail time

The court heard Danby sent a series of "disgusting" text messages to his friends in the hours after the crash, in which he labelled the crash victims as "dogs" and "n***ers".

No jail ? Lucky he didn't run Charke Kirk down I guess.

#EDIT: an update for those interested#

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-18/family-of-man-killed-in-darwin-hit-and-run-speak-out/105787700

The family of an Aboriginal man run down and killed by a hit-and-run driver in Darwin last year have voiced their "disgust and dismay" at the lack of a prison sentence for the offender.

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[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 27 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Lucky he didn’t run Charke Kirk down

I was just thinking in another thread, how easy it would have been to kill Kirk with a car and just get away with it. Because I don't agree with your comment here. Using a car is the best way to get away with murder. You have to be extremely unlucky to get any significant penalty when you kill someone with your car. Just ask the killers of Michael Hall, Carolyn Lister, Philip Pawsey, Richard Pollett, Richard Burden, and countless others around the country. Most of those were never charged. The one that was charged was never convicted. And our government spends more effort removing memorials than it does on actually addressing the problem.

[–] kuribo@aussie.zone 12 points 2 months ago

Much simpler than mushrooms.

[–] FartMaster69@lemmy.dbzer0.com 5 points 2 months ago

It depends if they care about who you hit.

[–] NigelFrobisher@aussie.zone 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Which memorials has Albo been removing?

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 17 points 2 months ago

Not a federal thing. I was specifically thinking of the Brisbane City Council local government which was repeatedly removing "white ghost" memorials to Philip Pawsey...until the memorialists put a white ghost bike on a trailer parked in the bike lane (which is a legal place to park a car here...), which because it's legally parked on the road, it would be illegal for them to remove. It ended up highlighting the irony of their failure to build proper infrastructure (i.e., separated bike paths where a car can't park and thereby endanger cyclists) far more than a normal memorial would have.

[–] DreamAccountant@lemmy.world -5 points 2 months ago (2 children)

Your nazis don't think it's a problem, they think it's a perk.

Deal with your nazi problem, Australia.

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 8 points 2 months ago

Not sure you understand the context here. This is complaining about motornormativity and how people can get away with murder if they do it with a car. It's got nothing to do with nazis.

[–] psud@aussie.zone 1 points 2 months ago

We have a racism problem, not a nazi problem

We have a car culture problem, not a nazi problem

[–] Almacca@aussie.zone 24 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

He only showed 'remorse' when he realised he was facing gaol time. At that point, he's only showing remorse for himself. The correct time to show remorse is immediately after it happened by stopping and rendering aid/calling emergency services. He might have even not been penalised at all if the pedestrians had actually stepped out in front of him without warning or time for him to avoid them. This whole judgement is completely fucked up.

[–] DreamAccountant@lemmy.world 21 points 2 months ago (4 children)

Australia still treats its native population horribly. Nazi style horribly. Every single piece of news about the aborigines has been bad for decades, with little or no social assistance in any way.

When you accuse a human being of being an 'oxygen theif' at their trial, nazis are prevalent in society.

Fuck you, Australia.

[–] Nath@aussie.zone 17 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Australia still treats its native population horribly.

Fair. Though this has been steadily improving and continues to improve.

Nazi style horribly.

No. While this was once true, it has not been true for about a century. Even the scandalous Stolen Generations, which was effectively an attempt at cultural genocide, was approached with the intent of improving the lives of Aboriginal peoples. The worst Australian policies of 50 years ago were not about rounding up and mass-murdering aboriginal people. If you throw Nazism around everywhere, you dilute the word. There is plenty of room for criticism of Australia's treatment of Aboriginal people but don't go overboard or you weaken your argument.

Nazism is illegal here:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-15/qld-man-charged-nazi-salute-at-afl-game-banned/105773522
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-04/vic-camp-sovereignty-charges/105732982
https://www.abc.net.au/listen/programs/pm/neo-nazi-leader-arrested-in-melbourne/105727024

But it is also present and we are fighting a war against it:
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-01/authorities-condemn-anti-immigration-rally-perth-neo-nazi/105722068

Every single piece of news about the aborigines has been bad for decades,

You probably only see the stuff that makes your feed globally and yes, there is plenty of news that is bad. But there's lots that isn't as well. The last piece of news I read before this article was about Cathy Freeman being inducted into Stadium Australia's inaugural Hall of Fame list. Here: have some news that is nicer:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-16/cathy-freeman-ian-thorpe-stadium-australia-hall-of-fame/105777908
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-01-04/binar-futures-basketball-adam-desmond-perth/104653506
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-05-28/uni-program-pairing-first-nations-business-owners-students/103896464
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-02-13/intense:-stolen-generations-survivor-recounts/103458314
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2023-09-04/school-program-aims-to-keep-pertame-language-alive/102810296

with little or no social assistance in any way.

Again, let me correct you here:
https://www.servicesaustralia.gov.au/payments-and-support-for-indigenous-australians?context=60078
https://www.niaa.gov.au/our-work/grants-and-funding
https://www.health.gov.au/our-work/indigenous-australians-health-programme
https://www.indigenous.gov.au/grants

Look, I'm not saying we're perfect on this front. Hell, I don't even think I'd go so far as to say we're good on this front. But we're trying, ok?

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 3 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

Fyi there is no "attempt" at cultural genocide. Genocide is a crime in the act itself, regardless of the success of lack thereof in the outcome.

[–] Nath@aussie.zone 3 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You aren't wrong, but they didn't think like that at the time. The racism was off the charts by today's standards. It's ghastly to look back on and the psychological damage this policy did is immeasurable and ongoing. But beyond all that, they truly were attempting to improve the lives of "the savages" as they saw it.

"The Board may assume full control and custody of the child of any aborigine, if after due inquiry it is satisfied that such a course is in the interest of the moral and physical welfare of such child. The Board may thereupon remove such child to such control and care as it thinks best."

[–] Zagorath@aussie.zone 2 points 2 months ago

Oh yeah I get it. They didn't think there was anything wrong with what they did at the time. I was merely addressing one part of your own comment:

which was effectively an attempt at cultural genocide

There's no such thing as "an attempt at...genocide". If the act was carried out with the intent to eradicate (even if, as was the case in Australia, they believed the eradication was in the best interests of the individuals), then the action is genocide, whether or not the targeted group actually ceases to exist.

If you think about it, that has to be the case. Otherwise we would say there has never been a genocide in history. The Nazis only attempted genocide against the Jews, Roma, gays, etc. But we don't say that, we say what the Nazis did was genocide, even though Jews, Romani, and gay people still exist today. (And likewise, the genocide Israel is currently perpetuating against Palestinians is a genocide, not an "attempted" one, which is why the common genocide denialist's attempt to point to numbers killed as a sign that it's not genocide is irrelevant.)

[–] Taleya@aussie.zone 13 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago)

Heads up, don't use the word "aboriginees" to describe our first peoples. It's Aboriginals or first nations for the most part.

But yeah fuck this cunt. That ruling was bullshit even for the NT

[–] star@aussie.zone 3 points 2 months ago

It's amazing how much isn't taught in school. And I know that won't be surprising to those in other colonial states like the US and Canada but we learned about US segregation, Jim Crow, read/watched To Kill A Mockingbird, but didn't know we've had the same kind of de facto segregated towns here in Australia within living history, complete with our own Freedom Ride in 1965. Luckily the union movement and communists eventually put a dent in it through boycotts and shoved the government into action.

[–] Steve@startrek.website 1 points 2 months ago

Good thing you guys dont have guns

[–] itsathursday@lemmy.world 15 points 2 months ago

How grateful we must all feel knowing this man is able to continue on and be remorseful and contribute positively to our society. I don’t look forward to the next time he does something else fuelled by his racism and no longer has the isolated incident - I went to church one time (I’m sorry what?? How is this worth anything in a court of law?) - defence.

[–] FireWire400@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago (1 children)

That cunt should be thrown in jail for his remarks alone

[–] spartanatreyu@programming.dev 2 points 2 months ago

Nah, he'd likely fall to recidivism with the other nazis in jail.

He should be forced to do some sort of aboriginal related charity in a position where he can only help them and not harm them for the rest of his life.

[–] johnwicksdog@aussie.zone 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I read this yesterday and just can't shake it. It's so fucked up.

I try remind myself of a study where members of the Australian public were asked if sentences were too lenient. The same question was asked of jurors from the actual court case. The results were that the public was far more likely to have the opinion that a sentence was too lenient where as the jury was more likely to believe it was appropriate. Normally considering this helps me take a step back from being outraged; Those who are closer to the case have considerations that aren't making the paper.

This case has to be an exception though. I just can't fathom how the judge arrived at such an abhorrently lenient sentence. This can only prove to indigenous people, and the family of the victims they don't matter. I really hope there is some review on this sentencing to prevent this in the future.

[–] hanrahan@slrpnk.net 2 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)

members of the Australian public were asked if sentences were too lenient. The same question was asked of jurors from the actual court case. The results were that the public was far more likely to have the opinion that a sentence was too lenient where as the jury was more likely to believe it was appropriate. Normally considering this helps me take a step back from being outraged; Those who are closer to the case have considerations that aren't making the paper.

I agree and have read the same, I rarely comment or post about such things for that reason. This wasn't a jury case though, he plead guilty

This case has to be an exception though.

Indeed and why I posted about it. Shocking as it would have been If the.dude had hit them and killed him but if he'd stooped amd rendered assistance but this .. this is next level

In the hours after the crash, Danby sent a series of text messages to his friends in which he called the victims "dogs", "n*****s" and "oxygen thieves" and boasted about the collision.

"Nah c***, I'm on a come down for work, I ain't stoppin' for no one," he wrote in one message.

"It was pretty funny watching them roll around on the road after going over my bonnet and through my windscreen

This update has some reasons given as well as the family being upset by it all

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-09-18/family-of-man-killed-in-darwin-hit-and-run-speak-out/105787700

The family of an Aboriginal man run down and killed by a hit-and-run driver in Darwin last year have voiced their "disgust and dismay" at the lack of a prison sentence for the offender

From the judge

In sentencing Danby, NT Supreme Court Justice Sonia Brownhill described the texts as "shockingly callous".

She accepted Danby had shown remorse since the incident and had good prospects for rehabilitation due to his young age, lack of criminal history, and strong employment record.

NAAJA chair Theresa Roe said in a statement the messages were "racist and dehumanising".

There is little to suggest the offender's racist attitudes have been reformed, despite the immense harm for Aboriginal communities across the NT caused by such attitudes."

I can only agree mith Ms. Roe.

[–] johnwicksdog@aussie.zone 1 points 2 months ago

This wasn’t a jut trial though, he pled guilty.

I suspect the reason a jury was chosen for the study was simply to find a cohort that was lay to the legal professions but still intimidate to a particular case. The lack of a jury doesn’t mean this still isn’t relevant, since it relates to the perception of fair sentencing among the public.