The first Indigenous person to be elected to the Tamworth Regional Council in North West New South Wales says that grassroot community engagement with Aboriginal people is crucial to closing the gap.

"Aboriginal people have been asking for their voices to be heard on issues that are local and on priorities that are important to them," Tamworth Regional Council councillor and Gomeroi man Marc Sutherland said.

"The voice that is coming from the Aboriginal community is that closing the gap needs to be driven by Aboriginal people and supported by the government, not the other way around."

READ MORE: US to send over $1 billion of weapons to Ukraine

Close The Gap aims to address and end the gross inequality that exists between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. This year, the campaign's report highlighted the importance of Aboriginal community-controlled services, which Mr Sutherland said were doing great work in Tamworth.

"The conversation is really looking towards 'what can local government do?'" he said.

"What can Tamworth Regional Council do to really support the work that's already being done, and support the community addressing some of the gaps that still exist, in trying to address those priority areas and some of those targets?"

Mr Sutherland said that while historically local government has not been a major player in "closing the gap", things are beginning to change as councils are the level of government closest to people.

"Closing the Gap is important to be able to put focus on the targets that currently exist in trying to provide some social equality and it's been a space that local government in New South Wales typically hasn't been a major player in," he said.

"But recently local governments have really committed to supporting those target areas."

EXPLAINER: What would a Russian bond default mean?

In late 2021, the Australian Local Government Association (ALGA) published an implementation plan which enhances the shared policy development and decision making at the local government level.

The association's president Linda Scott said local government recognises the need to reduce social and economic disadvantage that Indigenous Australians and particularly those living in remote communities experience.

ALGA is calling on the Commonwealth Government to provide $100 million per annum over four years for local governments to support the capacity and capability of Indigenous councils and to implement closing the gap.

"We know if this funding is allocated, it would create 804 jobs across the nation," Ms Scott said.

"It would contribute $117 million to Australia and most importantly, it would fund the work that local governments are proud to do to close the gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians."

READ MORE: Russian bomb destroys Ukraine theatre housing 'hundreds' of civilians

While the lives of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have improved over the years, the disadvantage gap is far from being closed.

"The life expectancy of Aboriginal people in this country is still greater than 10 years difference to non-Aboriginal people," Mr Sutherland said, adding the council was looking at 17 spaces to address this disparity.

"To improve it, we can't just look at health and education. We're now looking at employment, we're now looking at housing, we're looking at justice, we're looking at mental health.

"All of these areas that previously sat outside of the target to close the gap have now been brought in, and so as a community and as a local government closest connected to the communities trying to work out what can we do to best support outcomes in those spaces, to make sure that Aboriginal programs will be delivered by Aboriginal people to get better outcomes for our communities."

Mr Sutherland said it "means a lot" to be the first Gomeroi person elected to serve the community on a local government level in the region.

"If we want to advocate for national change or state change, then it is important that we toe the line and lead the way from our local government perspective and, and that's what I'm really passionate to do."

Aldi has been forced to cancel its highly anticipated snow equipment sale as supply chain issues force the supermarket to focus on groceries.

The discount grocer informed shoppers via social media that it was battling "deep disruption" in its supply chain and felt the "responsible option" was to prioritise food products for in-store delivery.

Held once a year, Aldi's Snow Gear Special Buys sales have reached near-cult status among shoppers who have been seeing queuing for hours to get first access to discount jackets, pants, ski equipment and snow wear.

READ MORE: Chilling word from Putin suggests war 'not going to plan'

"We know many customers look forward to our annual Snow Gear Special Buys and we are disappointed to share it will not be in stores this year," Aldi informed shoppers via its Facebook page.

"Due to supply chain issues that have impacted retailers across the country, our priority has been ensuring essential grocery items are available on shelves.

"Deep disruption in our supply chains over a number of months has meant that we have needed to make difficult decisions to make sure grocery is prioritised, and the removal of this year's Snow Gear Special Buys was a hard, but responsible option."

READ MORE: Why Russia is struggling against Ukraine

The supermarket said it hoped customers would understand the need to postpone the sale, which is scheduled to run as normal in 2023.

"We know the Snow Gear is a much anticipated Special Buys event. It is never our intention to cause disappointment, but we hope our customers understand the need to prioritise essentials in a time that has been a logistical challenge," Aldi said.

"We love the Snow Gear Special Buys and can't wait to be a part of customers' snow holiday plans with top quality gear at low prices in 2023."

LIVE UPDATES: US to send 'clear message to Putin' in swift move

While Aldi did not specify the exact issues complicating its supply chain, several retailers have complained of a "perfect storm" of variables forcing businesses to alter sale schedules.

The high price of fuel combined with COVID-19 isolation requirements – both domestically and overseas – have hit at the same time as the war in Ukraine and major floods on Australia's east coast.

A child had to be airlifted to hospital after been attacked by a kangaroo on a property in north-west New South Wales.

The three-year-old girl suffered serious lacerations to her head, back and arm yesterday around 5.30pm.

A kangaroo was seen on the back porch where the child was before she was injured.

READ MORE: Over 100 survivors freed from bombed Ukraine theatre

NSW paramedics treated the girl on scene.

"The young patient had suffered a number of deep lacerations, including a wound to the side of her head as a result of this attack," inspector Brian Lakin said.

"There is no doubt this would have been a terrifying ordeal for the little girl, who appeared to be in shock when paramedics arrived."

"This is a reminder to everyone about how unpredictable wild animals can be."

Ambulance inspectors stabilised the toddler before calling for The Westpac Rescue Helicopter around 6pm.

The girl and her mother were airlifted to John Hunter Hospital in a stable condition for further treatment.

READ MORE: Putin's chilling warning to Russian 'traitors' and 'scum' a sign

The attack comes after a Victorian teen was seriously injured when a kangaroo jumped onto her dirt bike.

Jemima Song, 14, and her sister Isabel were riding on a farm in western Victoria when the animal sprung from the trees and into her front wheel, throwing Ms Song off her bike.

She spent ten days in hospital with ruptured organs and a fractured spine.

Doctors expect she will make a full recovery by the end of April.

A former gold rush town in Western Australia's Pilbara region has experienced its hottest Autumn day in recorded history.

The mercury in Roebourne in the state's north hit a sweltering 47.1C yesterday, the Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) said.

"(That's) the hottest it's ever been this late in the season," BoM said.

READ MORE: Putin's chilling warning to Russian 'traitors' and 'scum' a sign

https://twitter.com/BOM_WA/status/1504374988530458625

Temperatures across the town are expected to cool to the high 30s over the weekend, before climbing above 40C again next week.

The extreme heat is being fuelled by a high pressure system, which moved into the Bight on Thursday resulting in northerly winds over southwestern parts of the State.

"Friday will be warm for many areas, with some areas set to reach temperatures 8-10°C above average for this time of year," the BoM said.

As the west braces for extreme temperatures the BoM has told northern and eastern Australia "more above-average rainfall" is on its way.

Australia is in the grips of a La Niña wet weather event, which has peaked but is seeing a delayed end due to "stronger than average" trade winds.

READ MORE: Girl attacked by kangaroo in north-west NSW while sitting on porch

https://twitter.com/BOM_au/status/1504335157091700747

The BoM said "La Niña is likely to return to neutral by late-autumn."

Let's see what the weather is doing around the nation's capitals.

Brisbane

Brisbane will experience a rainy day as temperatures reach 29C.

Light winds becoming southeasterly 15 to 25 km/h in the middle of the day then become light in the late evening.

Sydney

Showers and a potential thunderstorm are also developing in Sydney, which will today reach a maximum temperature of 27C.

Rain is most likely during this afternoon and evening.

Melbourne

Light showers will be felt across Melbourne, which will reach a high of 21C.

Sunny breaks will increase by late afternoon.

Canberra

A shower or two is also developing in the nation's capital, as the mercury hits 27C.

"There's a medium chance of showers during this afternoon and evening," BoM wrote.

"The chance of a thunderstorm during this afternoon and early evening."

Hobart

Temperatures will reach a maximum of 18C in Hobart, with an early shower forecast.

Winds will tend south to southwesterly at 20 to 30 km/h, tend south to southeasterly in the middle of the day, then become light in the late evening.

Adelaide

A sunny day will play out in Adelaide where a maximum temperature of 29C is forecast.

Winds will tend southeasterly at 20 to 30 km/h.

Darwin

Showers and a "gusty" storm are possible in tropical Darwin. This is most likely from late morning and afternoon, BoM said.

A maximum temperature of 34C is forecast.

Perth

And in Perth, the mercury will hit 29C. It will be partly cloudy with light winds.

Western leaders and security agencies are spending huge amounts of resources on getting into Russian President Vladimir Putin's head.

It's a futile exercise – at times when the West has thought Russia's war in Ukraine might be losing steam, Mr Putin has doubled down, sending his forces to bomb maternity hospitals and shelters harbouring children.

Now, an apparent pause in the advancement of Russian troops has the West guessing: Has Russia's war effort stalled? Or is it a tactical regrouping?

READ MORE: Over 100 survivors freed from bombed Ukraine theatre

Either way, an incendiary Stalinesque speech on Wednesday night in which Mr Putin called Russians opposing the war "traitors" marked a change in tone and a sign that not all is going to plan, experts said.

Perhaps more worrying, many observers saw it as a sign that the head of the Russian state, facing setback in Ukraine, would take a vengeful turn at home and crack down more forcefully than ever on any sign of dissent.

While some Russians support the war, many others are protesting against it in the streets, fully aware they will be rounded up by heavily armed police even for the most peaceful of demonstrations.

The Russian state has made mass protests illegal, and now, insulting the military is against the law. Still, people show up in groups, while others demonstrate entirely alone. Even lone protesters have been detained, social media videos have shown.

READ MORE: Invasion reveals a host of weaknesses in Russia's military: top US general

A journalist who jumped on camera on a state-controlled news program, holding an anti-war sign, has become a cause celebré for free speech in Russia. A renowned ballerina has left the Bolshoi. Russian prisoners of war are calling Mr Putin out for using propaganda to justify the war.

Mr Putin, who has enjoyed consistently high ratings in Russia, is now turning to a strategy of intimidation to keep Russians on side, experts said.

READ MORE: Russia could default on its debt within days

His speech Wednesday hinted darkly that those Russians who do not side with him were, in essence, traitors — chilling words in a country where mass political repressions and the Gulag system are still within living memory.

"The West will try to rely on the so-called fifth column, on national traitors, on those who earn money here with us but live there. And I mean 'live there' not even in the geographical sense of the word, but according to their thoughts, their slavish consciousness," Mr Putin said.

The "fifth column" usually refers to sympathizers of the enemy during a war.

"Such people who by their very nature, are mentally located there, and not here, are not with our people, not with Russia," Mr Putin said, mocking them as the type that "cannot live without oysters and gender freedom."

"But any people, and even more so the Russian people, will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors, and simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths, spit them out on the pavement," he said.

For Tatiana Stanovaya, founder of the political analysis firm R. Politik, Mr Putin's speech proved the leader's plan has derailed.

"It seems to me that everything is starting to crumble with Putin. This speech of his is despair, strong emotion, impotence," she wrote on her official Telegram account.

Pointing to the situation in Russia, Stanovaya argues that Mr Putin is losing the battle of popularity too.

"This is the beginning of the end. Yes, they will twist everyone's elbows, lock them up, imprison them, but it is already all without a future … Everything will crack and slip."

Elisabeth Braw, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, said Mr Putin's speech reflected how isolated the Russian leader had become.

"What we saw as the war began, and what we have seen since — including last night's speech — is really the result of a man whose entire world takes place inside his head," Ms Braw told CNN, explaining how Putin had isolated intensely during the pandemic and was now more cut off as Western sanctions batter the Russian economy.

She said that he was likely surprised and angered by how far the West has gone with sanctions, and was now worried of the backlash that would likely soon come from the Russian people.

"There is a sort of humiliation of a country that is now seeing McDonald's close, where Russians are flocking to IKEA to get every last item that's available before it leaves the country — that is humiliating, and of course, also rather frightening when you think of the potential reaction among the Russian public once these consumer goods are no longer available," she said.

Mr Putin's ominous warning to Russians came as the UK's defense ministry said the invasion had "largely stalled on all fronts."

"Russian forces have made minimal progress on land, sea or air in recent days and they continue to suffer heavy losses," the ministry tweeted Thursday, adding that Ukrainian resistance remained "staunch and well-coordinated."

That chimes with the assessment from a senior US defense official, who told reporters on Monday that Russian forces in and around several key cities had made no appreciable progress over the prior weekend.

It may be wishful thinking to read so much into this pause. Russia's military is far mightier than Ukraine's by every measure. Any "stall" is more likely to be tactical than a sign of Russia backing down.

Nonetheless, Russia's invasion hasn't brought easy pickings for Mr Putin. In 2014, Russia was able to annex Crimea in around three weeks — the same amount of time this war has raged so far. Ukraine's resistance, propped up by weapons sent from the West, has been greater than Mr Putin had calculated, experts said.

That's clear by the way Russian forces are now bombing civilian targets indiscriminately. They are also showing signs of being stretched to their limits.

A public intelligence assessment report released Tuesday by the UK defense ministry said that Russia was calling up reinforcements from across the entire country.

This includes the eastern section of the Russian Federation, troops in the Pacific Fleet and Armenia, as well as fighters from "private military companies, Syrians, and other mercenaries."

Ms Braw said that the stall in Russian forces' movement was likely the result of Russia working out next steps.

"Russia clearly counted on a swift and decisive success, which didn't happen. They face more united, better trained Ukrainian fighters than Russia appreciated," she said.

"So they went to Plan B, which was brutal warfare, but Ukraine is standing firm. They are winning back towns, they recently liberated a local mayor who was taken captive. So if that's not working, what's Plan C?"

At the very least, Ukraine's resistance has put the country in a better place for negotiations with Mr Putin than it would have been at the start of the war, Ms Braw said.

What Mr Putin won't want is to lose many more soldiers, she added.

"If Russia returns from the Ukrainian war with a completely decimated military, it's clearly pursued the wrong strategy."

It's believed at least 130 people have been rescued from the rubble of a theatre bombed by Russian forced in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol.

Hundreds of people were thought to have taken shelter in the theatre amid the ongoing Russian siege of Mariupol.

Hundreds of thousands of people are trapped in the coastal city and as many as 2500 civilians have died in Mariupol, Ukrainian officials estimate.

READ MORE: Why Russia is struggling against Ukraine

"After an awful night of not knowing, we finally have good news from Mariupol on the morning of the 22nd day of the war," the former Donetsk region head Sergei Taruta wrote in a Facebook post Thursday.

"The bomb shelter [of the theatre] was able to hold. The rubble is beginning to be cleared. People are coming out alive."

It was not yet clear whether all those who sheltered in the theatre had survived. Exact numbers have been difficult to confirm due to the difficulties of maintaining communications in Mariupol.

Convoys of people in the besieged city have also reportedly been able to leave, although Russia claims they are taking them.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden has confirmed he will speak with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, as questions over Beijing's stance on the Russian invasion grow louder.

Ukraine's Minister of Defence, Oleskii Reznikov, said on Thursday that the Russian who carried out the bombing was a "monster", and stressed the presence of children in the building.

"You've probably already heard that this theatre which was struck by missiles, a theatre where 1200 women and children were hiding," he told the European Parliament via video link.

"And you can see from the maps, from the drones that around this theatre, big letters of 'CHILDREN' were written so that the pilot of the plane which was throwing the bombs could see 'CHILDREN', and still, in spite of that, this monster has bombed the theatre."

https://twitter.com/IuliiaMendel/status/1504374926874185728

Maxim Kach, a Mariupol city government official, said the building was for civilians, with only women and young children hiding within it and not military personnel, while an adviser to the government said it was the largest shelter in Mariupol.

Hope had earlier emerged on Thursday night (AEDT) when an official first said some people had managed to survive inside the Mariupol theatre.

A photo released by Mariupol's city council showed an entire section of the large, three-storey theatre had collapsed after the strike Wednesday evening.

Several hundred people had taken refuge in the building, seeking safety amid Russia's three-week, strangulating siege of the strategic Azov Sea port city.

Images released by the Maxar space technology company showed the the pavement in front of and behind the once-elegant theatre had in fact been marked with huge white letters spelling out "CHILDREN" in Russian, at least as recently as Monday.

Rubble had temporarily buried the entrance to the shelter inside the theatre, and it was not yet known how many people were killed or injured, Pavlo Kyrylenko, head of the Donetsk regional administration, said on Telegram.

Russian airstrikes also hit a municipal swimming pool complex in Mariupol where civilians, including women and children, had been sheltering, Mr Kyrylenko said.

"Now there are pregnant women and women with children under the rubble there," he wrote, though the number of casualties was not immediately known.

"My heart breaks from what Russia is doing to our people," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Wednesday night after the theatre strike.

Hours earlier, he delivered a speech via video to the US Congress that garnered several ovations as he called for more help.

The Russian Defence Ministry denied bombing the theatre or anywhere else in Mariupol on Wednesday.

On Thursday, Russian artillery destroyed a school and a community centre in Merefa, a city near the northeast city of Kharkiv, according to Merefa's mayor Veniamin Sitov. There were no known civilian casualties. The Kharkiv region has seen heavy bombardment as stalled Russian forces try to advance in the area.

Six nations have called for a UN Security Council meeting on Ukraine on Thursday afternoon, ahead of an expected vote Friday on a Russian resolution demanding protection for Ukrainian civilians "in vulnerable situations," yet making no mention of Moscow's responsibility for the war.

"Russia is committing war crimes and targeting civilians," Britain's UN Mission tweeted, announcing the call for the meeting that was joined by the US, France and others. "Russia's illegal war on Ukraine is a threat to us all."

Russian attacks have battered cities and villages across large parts of Ukraine, including the capital, Kyiv, where residents have been huddling in homes and shelters.

A fire broke out in a Kyiv apartment building early Thursday after it was hit by the remnants of a downed Russian rocket, killing one person and injuring at least three others, according to emergency services. Firefighters evacuated 30 people from the top floors of the 16-storey building and extinguished the blaze within an hour.

Russian President Vladimir Putin went on television to Wednesday excoriate Russians who don't back him, even as both sides expressed optimism over efforts to negotiate an end to the fighting.

Russians "will always be able to distinguish true patriots from scum and traitors and will simply spit them out like a gnat that accidentally flew into their mouths," he said. "I am convinced that such a natural and necessary self-purification of society will only strengthen our country."

He said the West is using a "fifth column" of traitorous Russians to create civil unrest.

"And there is only one goal, I have already spoken about it — the destruction of Russia," he said.

The speech appeared to be a warning that his authoritarian rule, which had already grown tighter since the invasion began on Feb. 24, shutting down Russian news outlets and arresting protesters, could grow even more repressive.

In a sign of that, Russian law enforcement announced the first known criminal cases under a new law that allows for 15-year prison terms for posting what is deemed to be "false information" about the Ukraine war. Among those charged was Veronika Belotserkovskaya, a Russian-language cookbook author and blogger living abroad.

But it also came amid signs that talks were finally making progress.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said after Tuesday's meeting that a neutral military status for Ukraine was being "seriously discussed" by the two sides, while Zelenskyy said Russia's demands for ending the war were becoming "more realistic."

Wednesday's talks, held by video, appeared to wade more deeply into technicalities.

Zelenskyy adviser Mikhailo Podolyak said Ukraine demanded a cease-fire, the withdrawal of Russian troops and security guarantees for Ukraine from several countries.

"This is possible only through direct dialogue" between Zelenskyy and Putin, he tweeted.

An official in Zelenskyy's office told The Associated Press that the main subject under discussion was whether Russian troops would remain in separatist regions in eastern Ukraine after the war and where the borders would be.

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive talks, said Ukraine was insisting on the inclusion of one or more Western nuclear powers in the negotiations and on a legally binding document with security guarantees for Ukraine. In exchange, the official said, Ukraine was ready to discuss a neutral status.

Russia has demanded that NATO pledge never to admit Ukraine to the alliance or station forces there.

So big and bold it could be seen by a satellite in space, the warning "children" was painted outside a drama theatre where hundreds of Ukrainians, young and old, had been sheltering from Russian shelling.

Today, that theatre in the city of Mariupol was eviscerated, hit with what a Ukrainian politician said was a devastating 1000-kilogram Russian bomb.

MP Dmytro Gurin accused the Russians of knowingly bombing the building while women and children were hiding inside, and said acts of "mass murder" were now being carried out by Russian forces in Mariupol.

READ MORE: Footage captures Biden calling Putin 'war criminal'

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"They just knew that it was bomb shelter and dropped 1000 kilogram bomb on this dramatic theatre," Mr Gurion told Today.

"The building is destroyed."

Satellite imagery firm Maxar Technologies said images snapped from space on Monday showed the word "children" had been written in large white letters in Cyrillic, the alphabet used in Russia, outside the building.

There was no immediate word on deaths or injuries in what the Mariupol city council said was a deliberate and targeted airstrike.

Ukrainian officials said there was no way the theatre could have been mistaken for a military target by the Russian aircraft that dropped the bomb.

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US President Joe Biden today declared Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal" in a strengthening shift of rhetoric from Washington.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies have previously been used to track a massive 64km-long Russian army convoy which had been snaking towards the capital Kyiv.

The Federal Government has added three more local government areas (LGAs) devastated by floodwaters to its additional disaster payment scheme, allowing residents to access thousands more in support.

From today the residents of Ballina, Kyogle and Tweed will be eligible for an additional two weekly disaster payments paid at the rate of $1000 per adult and $400 per child.

The additional payments will be automatically paid to those who have already claimed and received the Australian Government Disaster Recovery Payment.

EXPLAINER: Extra disaster payments: Who is eligible and how to get your money

Residents can expect to receive the additional payments from March 22.

The areas join three original LGAs already eligible in the scheme of Lismore, Richmond Valley and Clarence Valley.

Emergency Management Minister Bridget McKenzie said the three new areas were included based on assessments made by the National Recovery and Resilience Agency.

"As the full scale and impact to these areas in northern NSW is being realised, the Liberal and Nationals Government is implementing this extra support as quickly as possible," Ms McKenzie said.

"While people in northern NSW aren't able to work, are still clearing out their homes and businesses, the extra two $1000 payments we're rolling out to eligible families and individuals will support our communities as they start to rebuild their lives.

"The additional two $1000 payments for adults and $400 for children will automatically apply for AGDRP recipients in the Ballina, Byron, Kyogle and Tweed LGAs, so there is no need for people to re-apply."

EXPLAINER: What would a Russian bond default mean?

Government Services Minister Linda Reynolds said more than $862 million worth of disaster payments had been paid for 784,000 claims.

"The catastrophic scale and impact of what we're seeing in this region of northern NSW is exactly why this extra support is needed," Ms Reynolds said.

"Eligible adults in seven Northern Rivers LGAs will receive a total payment of $3000 each, plus a total of $1200 for each child.

"I'd encourage anyone who has not yet applied for the disaster payment to do so as soon as possible."

READ MORE: US to send over $1 billion of weapons to Ukraine

The move to include more government areas comes after sustained criticism from flood-damaged communities that the original three LGAs were chosen to favour a Nationals-held federal seat.

Ballina, Byron and Tweed LGAs all fall into the Labor-held seat of Richmond.

Affected residents can claim the Disaster Recovery Payment and Disaster Recovery Allowance online through myGov.

Online claiming is available 24/7.

If people require support to claim, they can call the Australian Government Emergency Information Line on 180 22 66, open Monday to Friday, 8am to 7pm local time and this Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4pm local time.

More than 30 whales are stranded on Farewell Spit in the South Island tonight.Department of Conversation (DoC) Takaka Operations Manager Dave Winterburn said they received reports of a potential mass stranding at 6pm on Thursday.”It…

9News can reveal video which has been played to a jury showing intimate moments between Tristan Sailor and the woman who has accused the former NRL player of sexual assault.

In security footage from the Beach Road Hotel at Bondi in October 2020, the pair can be seen cuddling, kissing, laughing and playing drinking games with several St George Illawarra teammates.

The alleged victim and her friend are later captured walking into her Wolli Creek apartment block with Sailor and then-Dragon Eddie Blacker.

The complainant had been drinking for more than six hours, starting in the afternoon at a bottomless lunch.

She claims by the time she made it home she was too drunk to consent to sex with Sailor.

The son of the high-profile former footballer Wendell Sailor has pleaded not guilty, arguing their encounter was consensual.

The trial has been in a holding pattern this week after Sailor's senior counsel was forced into isolation from being a COVID-19 close contact.

The matter resumes on Monday.