A public split has emerged among conservative commentators over support for former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith, with News24 colleagues Andrew Bolt and Peta Credlin taking sharply different positions.
The disagreement became more visible after Bolt criticised what he called a publicity campaign on Roberts-Smith’s behalf and disclosed that he had been approached by a lobbying firm seeking to arrange a meeting with the decorated veteran.
Bolt also said an intermediary had urged him to attack Liberal frontbencher Andrew Hastie, whose long-running dispute with Roberts-Smith dates back to their time in the Special Air Service Regiment.
Hastie gave evidence against his former comrade during Roberts-Smith’s unsuccessful defamation case against Nine newspapers, which had accused him of involvement in war crimes.
Roberts-Smith denies the allegations. He was arrested last year after arriving at Sydney Airport on a flight from Brisbane and charged with five war crimes offences relating to deployments between 2009 and 2012. He remains on bail.
Conservative commentators divided over Roberts-Smith
Since the charges were brought, Hastie has become a regular target of Roberts-Smith’s supporters. One Nation described the Liberal MP as a “traitor” in a political cartoon, while party leader Pauline Hanson called for the charges to be dropped.
Bolt has rejected efforts to draw him into the campaign, saying he wanted the allegations dealt with in court rather than through public advocacy.
“Trouble is, I value truth, and want allegations this serious settled in court, and not by a publicity campaign outside it,” he said on air.
He had previously challenged conservatives defending Roberts-Smith after the charges were laid, asking whether Australian soldiers should be permitted to shoot unarmed prisoners.
“I have a simple question for the people angrily defending Ben Roberts-Smith, claiming a war hero is being persecuted by woke civilians judging soldiers in battle from the comfort of their sofas,” Bolt wrote.
“Do you think Australian soldiers should be allowed to shoot unarmed prisoners?”
Bolt’s position contrasts with that of Credlin, one of Roberts-Smith’s most prominent supporters at News24. On her October 22 programme, she criticised the Albanese government’s changes to the legal definition of hors de combat and their application to alleged war crimes in Afghanistan.
“Now, I don’t think anyone is above the law, least of all our soldiers,” Credlin said.
She argued that soldiers were being judged against legal standards that did not exist when they served, and suggested political leaders and senior Defence figures had avoided scrutiny while veterans faced prosecution.
Credlin also shared social media posts promoting merchandise sold through Roberts-Smith’s EPIC 1 TWO brand, named after his SAS call sign. The online store sells T-shirts, hoodies and caps, and offers a 10 per cent discount to serving and former military personnel.
Other News24 figures have taken a more qualified approach. Rowan Dean, co-host of Outsiders, criticised the way the government had prosecuted Roberts-Smith while stressing that he was not making a judgment on guilt or innocence.
“It’s just my opinion, I am not a lawyer, and I make no judgment on guilt or innocence regarding the charges against Ben Roberts-Smith, but as far as I’m concerned, this entire affair stinks to high heaven,” Dean said.
Sharri Markson has questioned the scale and cost of the war crimes investigation without making Roberts-Smith’s case a central campaign. She said government agencies had spent upwards of $300 million and deployed hundreds of staff, arguing that the resources might instead have been used to investigate terrorists.
“Put guilt or innocence aside, one thing is for certain. Government agencies have spent upwards of $300 million and hundreds of staff on its war crimes investigation,” Markson said.
“Now, wouldn’t our country be a lot safer if that money and those major resources were redirected into investigating actual terrorists? There are 18,000 people on the terror watch list in Australia.”
Bolt’s intervention has left him at odds with several conservative commentators who have championed Roberts-Smith. His stance reflects a willingness to break with parts of the right on controversial figures, including British far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whom he previously described as a public menace.
