A JUDGE has been urged to dismiss Bradley John Murdoch's bid to appeal against his conviction for killing backpacker Peter Falconio.
Prosecutors made the plea in papers filed for an Australian court.
Their challenge will be considered by a judge who will determine whether the appeal should be heard by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
The decision is expected this month.
State prosecutors in the Northern Territory say they want the appeal application refused because it does not demonstrate a miscarriage of justice and the sentence of life imprisonment is not excessive.
Murdoch's defence team lodged its appeal last month, after he was sentenced to life, with a non-parole period of 28 years.
His lawyers say Joanne Lees's identification of her attacker should have been excluded from evidence.
Murdoch, 47, a mechanic, had denied killing Mr Falconio, from Hepworth, in the Outback in July, 2001.
Murdoch was also found guilty of assaulting and depriving Miss Lees, Mr Falconio's girlfriend, of her liberty.
The trial heard evidence from 85 witnesses and involved 300 exhibits.
Director of Public Prosecutions Rex Wild QC, who retired this week, has revealed that he is returning to help fight the appeal.
The Examiner revealed last month that Miss Lees is writing a book about the murder.
Miss Lees, now 32 and living in Brighton, said she wanted to clear up misconceptions.
The two were on a `trip of a lifetime' when they were attacked at gunpoint on a remote stretch of highway 200 miles north of Alice Springs.
