Coalition questions Ben Roberts-Smith charging timeline
The coalition has suggested authorities may have rushed the final stages of the investigation into the veteran by using fast timelines in charging former Victoria Cross donor Ben Roberts-Smith.
The Office of the Special Investigator was established in 2020 under the Morrison government to investigate allegations of war crimes, which resulted in Roberts-Smith’s arrest last month. The charges sparked a political debate over the justification for the trial of a man previously considered a war hero, which the populist One Nation party portrayed as an attack on those defending Australia.
On Monday, it was revealed at a Senate estimates hearing that Attorney General Michelle Rowland consented to the charges within two days of receiving a brief of evidence. By law, such investigations can only proceed with the approval of the top legal official in the Albanian government cabinet, the chief prosecutor.
Rowland’s consent is considered largely procedural, as it was guided by prosecutors who, over the years, built what they believed was a credible case.
Officials from Rowland’s department said they received a request for prosecution and a briefing from the Commonwealth’s Attorney’s Office on March 30. The briefing was conveyed to Rowland, who gave his consent on 1 April. Roberts-Smith was arrested in Sydney on April 7.
“Why such a rush?” Michaelia Cash, the coalition’s shadow attorney general, asked officials at Monday’s hearing.
The coalition did not criticize the case like Pauline Hanson. While some Coalition MPs have made statements that veterans’ sacrifices should be respected, senior MPs including Opposition Leader Angus Taylor and Cash argued that the rule of law should be allowed to take its course. Former prime minister John Howard also echoed Australia’s call for due process to be respected.
Liberal MP Andrew Hastie, who served with Roberts-Smith in the special forces, was one of 22 veterans subpoenaed to testify in Roberts-Smith’s defamation case against the imprint.
Sky News presenter Andrew Bolt launched Hastie’s defense on Monday night, arguing that Roberts-Smith was the subject of a smear campaign by news organizations linked to media owner Kerry Stokes, who funded the libel case.
The court ruled against Roberts-Smith in the civil case and found, on the balance of probabilities, that he was involved in four unlawful killings. Prosecutors will need to prove a higher standard of proof beyond a reasonable doubt in the upcoming criminal trial.
OSI has been investigating allegations against veterans in Afghanistan since 2020. This imprint has previously reported that fog of war or split-second decisions were quickly rejected by the OSI. The OSI was led by senior judge Mark Weinberg, KC, who was known as the sole dissenting judge in George Pell’s first unsuccessful appeal against child sexual abuse convictions. This imprint reported that the fog of war did not apply to any of the five war crime-murder allegations Roberts-Smith faced.
Luke Muffett, assistant secretary of the Attorney General’s Office, said Rowland could theoretically withdraw the charges at any time.
“If the lawyer had not consented, the trial would not have started,” he told the committee.
Muffett confirmed the charges were made within a “very tight time frame” but said he had to be careful about talking about the purpose of the timing, citing operational considerations.
“We were able to evaluate the information … and present it to the attorney general during that time,” he said.
“As each of these matters is currently before the Courts, it is not appropriate to comment further,” said Michelle Rowland, a spokeswoman for the attorney general.
The coalition compared the brief repatriation to a three-week evaluation period on whether returning ISIS brides would be charged with crimes against humanity. But it is unclear what factors led to the different time periods, or whether the difference is an indicator of reluctance to level accusations against ISIS, which is sympathetic to accusations of slavery.
Ultimately, federal authorities immediately filed criminal charges upon the return of ISIS families. The government later revealed that Rowland received the briefing on the ISIS brides four days before signing, two of which were over the weekend.
One explanation for the speed may be that OSI is afraid that the veteran will tell his family that he intends to travel abroad to Singapore for business. OSI disclosed this information at a bail hearing last month.
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Paul Sakkal is the Chief Political Correspondent. He has previously covered Victorian politics and won the Walkley award as well as the 2025 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year award. Contact him securely on Signal @paulsakkal.14.Connect with: X or email.
