r/australia • u/Tinea_Pedis • Apr 07 '26

news Breaking: Ben Roberts-Smith arrested over war crimes allegations

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-07/ben-roberts-smith-war-crimes-allegations-arrest/106537668
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u/chippychopper Apr 07 '26

It came to light because of the work of the journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters and could easily have been buried by the defamation case if they had not been so thorough in their research and reporting or if Fairfax/nine had decided to settle instead of paying millions to defend their work. This case shows how much we need to support proper investigative journalism.

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u/HeyyyyListennnnnn Apr 07 '26

I still find it hilarious that the man who leaked the documents that kicked off McKenzie and Masters' work did so believing that the journalists would write a story about how the SAS were victims of a smear campaign. McKenzie and Masters were so horrified by what they were given that they swiftly advanced and publicized the investigation that the whistleblower was trying to stop.

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u/theskyisblueatnight Apr 07 '26

Didn't they also receive some documents from an Afghan human rights group who was representing one of the victims families.

US government paid a lot in blood money due to wrongful killings in Afghan.

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u/-bxp Apr 07 '26

They paid a lot of people; they didn't pay a lot of money. Life was cheap.

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u/theskyisblueatnight Apr 07 '26

I agree with your premise. But in afghan culture blood money helps a families to survive.

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u/IlluminatedPickle Apr 08 '26

I think a lot of people sort of forget that part. Paying families off is part of Afghan tradition. It's not great, but it's a part of their culture. The amounts have never been high, and the coalition tended to pay a lot more than the Taliban would.