By AR Williams, Canberra correspondent
The socialist Labor Government continues to vilify the military chasing 15 year old shadows in Afghanistan by allocating another $44m in this week’s budget to prosecute Special Air Service Regiment members.
Corporal Ben Roberts Smith, VC MG, has taken the brunt of false allegations by several former SAS members, who got their noses out of joint over Roberts Smith being awarded a VC for most conspicuous gallantry when on June 11, 2010, as a patrol second-in-command, his platoon was pinned down by intense Taliban machine-gun fire from an elevated, fortified enemy position.
He knowingly exposed his position to draw enemy fire away from his pinned-down patrol members closing in to within 20 meters of the fortified enemy and personally killed both machine-gun teams, which allowed his patrol to regain the initiative and clear the village of Tizak.
Roberts Smith lost his defamation case against Channel 9, which published a report that he killed unarmed civilians, when a single Federal Court judge claimed on the balance of probabilities Roberts Smith could have shot unarmed Afghans.
That finding is far short of evidence needed for a criminal trial. There has to be evidence presented that would convince a jury beyond reasonable doubt.
Outside of government-funded Afghan informants and former soldiers turned informants, who have been given immunity from prosecution, there appears to be no evidence that would stand on its own. Observers from the defamation trial remarked that sworn testimony they heard was simply hearsay.
He has been released on bail but the judge said at the bail hearing he doubted the case would get to trial for “years.”
Despite high application numbers to join the military, the recruitment process has been described as having an excessive rate of applicant abandonment due to long timelines, and high turnover persists, particularly in the Army.
Should this ideological, Marxist witch hunt against our frontline soldiers continue, the present lower recruitment rate, resignations and natural attrition would see Australia with no effective military protection by 2030.
The permanent full-time ADF workforce stands at approximately 61,000 to 61,189.
The government recently reset the 2025-26 target to 59,373, which the force is on track to meet, but still missed broader growth targets by about 1,000 members in the last period.
Ben was prohibited by the court from raising funds for his legal defence but a group of friends and supporters have set up a formal Discretionary Blind Trust which is now in place. – “The Ben Roberts-Smith VC MG Trust” has been established by his close friends (with the family’s knowledge and blessing) and is independently managed to ensure proper governance and oversight.
If you can help Ben here is the link to the trust which caters for Australian and international transfers:
Important: Some Banks may display a warning that the account name does not match exactly. This is normal and is due to the full legal account name being longer than some bank accounts allow you to enter. Simply continue with the next button and ensure the BSS and Bank details are correct.
No help from the Full Bench of the Federal Court of Appeal in defamation case
Mr. Roberts-Smith’s lawyers argued that Justice Besanko made several legal errors in his 700+ page defamation judgment:
- Incomplete Fact-Finding and Reasoning: The appeal argued that the judge engaged in “speculation” and “circular reasoning” regarding the motivation for killings, particularly in the case of a murder at the village of Chinartu.
- “Cherry-Picking” Evidence: The legal team claimed Besanko “cherry-picked” evidence, placing too much weight on witnesses deemed unreliable by the defense while rejecting evidence provided by Roberts-Smith and his supporters.
- Misapplication of the Law (Briginshaw Principle): It was argued that the judge failed to properly apply the Briginshaw principle, which requires a higher standard of proof in civil cases where the allegations (like war crimes) are extremely serious.
- Mischaracterization of Witness Testimony: The appeal alleged that the judge relied on witnesses who were not consistent, specifically regarding an alleged “blooding” incident (killing a prisoner to initiate a new soldier).
- Ignoring Official Records: The defense contended that Besanko erred in rejecting “official” war records that supported Roberts-Smith’s view that the killings were lawful combat actions.
Outcome of the Appeal
The Full Bench of the Federal Court rejected these claims in May 2025, finding that Justice Besanko’s judgment was “careful and clear”. Really?
Very sad beautiful country ,run by traitors going after men who have been through hell . War is hell ,war in middle east beyond hell . Justice is coming to this country and the puppets from the real JAG under POTUS .
Commenter Neville Thompson .. My opinion aligns with yours. Those testifying against BR-S would be seen to be participants in the alleged crimes therefore given amnesty as “payment” for their damning testimonies. Those guys have no other choice. How low can a socialist government go.? Trust Albo..?.. sure can..!!
When do these guys get involved in representing their Military personnel.
The Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is an office established under the Defence Force Discipline Act (1982). This position is held by a judge or former judge of a federal court or a state supreme court. The appointment of the JAG is made by the Governor-General-in-Council. The JAG has the authority to establish procedural rules for tribunals operating within the Navy, Army, and Air Force. They also conduct the final legal review of proceedings within the ADF and play a role in the appointment of judge advocates, Defence Force magistrates, presidents, and members of courts martial, as well as legal officers for various purposes. Additionally, the JAG is responsible for reporting on the operation of laws concerning the discipline of the ADF.[1]
This witch hunt is out if control and how can this go ahead when ch9 have paid witnesses for their silence.
Best analogy of what is happening to BRS was made by John Larder on a recent Club Grubbery with Mike Rude.
[ https://www.bitchute.com/video/A7dbNhTDJDdD ] May 2026
The former Canadian paratrooper discussed the chemical treatment of military personnel (vaxxes and psychiatric drugs) and possible after-effects resulting in cancers, crimes, murders, suicides. Soldiers were, and probably still are, over-deployed and over-dosed with drugs, and under coercion of losing their job if they refuse the HR Dept/ADF leadership.
John’s analogy was to the effect:
It’s like a horse owner/trainer dopes up a horse, enters it in a race knowing it will be hyped-up, and then when the stewards call ‘doping’, the authorities come down like a ton of bricks on the horse. The owner/trainer retreat to the canteen and bar.
I have never been so disgusted in my life. No wonder the country is sinking with so many evil, crooked, half-witted dingbats posing as politicians. Our country is in the sewer permanently now, due to too many foul bureaucrats getting rich while they specialise in destroying peoples lives.
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Horrible Elbow government intends to collapse the economy and get us all on Universal Basic Income as a prelude to Swissy’s CBDCs which the RBA has been developing to enslave us in their total surveillance and control BIS system. They are absolutely doing it, now with their constant lies about helping the young people, how can young people afford $1M loan with 5% deposit, everything the Elbow government says is a horrible nasty lie and an attack on any sort of normality.
Hey folks,
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No doubt about it, the soldiers are expendable. A dime a dozen, LITERALLY, “just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy” as allegedly stated by Henry Kissinger. Maybe it is just an allegation, but the sentiment is indisputably correct.
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So good luck to Ben Roberts Smith and all those like him, he’s institutionally dealing with a hat full of arseholes and there’s just no way to NOT end up covered in shit.
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Meanwhile, the article said – “… the present lower recruitment rate, resignations and natural attrition would see Australia with no effective military protection by 2030…”
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“Effective military protection” from WHAT, a bunch of sandal-clad tribesmen rampaging around in THEIR OWN COUNTRY somewhere over there on the other side of the world?
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Or maybe we’re talking about “effective military protection” from Aboriginal kids on the loose, running free and UNINJECTED somewhere in the remote Australian Outback FFS.
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Does anyone else see the Elephant in the Room here?
If we’re going to be stressing out over “recruitment targets” then maybe we first should be looking into exactly WHAT IT IS that we’re recruiting them FOR.
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And just BTW, folks, if they REALLY want the Army job applications to go through the roof so much that they have to TURN THEM AWAY, then just keep right on WRECKING the Australian economy and plunge the population even DEEPER into poverty and hunger and homelessness and desperation with no plausible future for the younger generation. We seem to be right on track, everything’s coming along SWIMMINGLY.
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That always seems to work. Which is why all the really BIG wars get underway right after a good meaty ECONOMIC DEPRESSION. Not to “defend” our country with “effective military protection”, but rather to MAKE USE of all that pent-up HOSTILITY and MANPOWER to reshape the world for the untouchable Hidden Elites, while also DISPOSING of inconvenient populations and civilisational artefacts.
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Hey, it’s a paycheck and generally three nutritionally mediocre meals a day when the chef doesn’t spit in the custard or drop his false teeth in the soup or crap in the gravy, what’s not to like? Just remember you’re expendable, utterly irredeemably so. Maybe ask Ben Roberts Smith in a few years after he’s had enough time to fully reflect on it.
Why would those who have provided their eye witness accounts of what Corporal Robert-Smith is being charged for be needing indemnity from being prosecuted ; is it for something they did , no different to what Corporal Robert-Smith is being accused of seeing they were with him ?
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