Ben Roberts-Smith: Pauline Hanson slams ‘disgraceful’ arrest in front of war veteran's daughters

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has thrown her support behind Ben Roberts-Smith, slamming his “disgraceful” treatment at the hands of police who arrested the decorated war veteran in front of his teenage daughters.

Mr Roberts-Smith was arrested at Sydney Airport on Tuesday morning as he disembarked a plane from Brisbane.

He is expected to be charged later today with five counts of war-crime murder.

Ms Hanson took to social media after Australian Federal Police Commissioner Krissy Barrett confirmed the 47-year-old Victoria Cross recipient had been arrested.

“I remain steadfast in my support of Ben Roberts-Smith despite news of his arrest today,” Ms Hanson said.

“Ben, his immediate and broader defence family need the Australian people’s support right now and I will not abandon him like so many other politicians.

“Ben was disgracefully arrested in front of his twin 15-year-old girls.

“He will be held in jail for 7 days. He gets just one bail application. If that application fails, they can hold him for 2 years.”

Mr Roberts-Smith, who has not been charged, is facing accusations relating to several deaths in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.

Ms Barrett said it would be alleged that “a man was a member of the ADF when he was involved in the death of Afghan nationals between 2009 and 2012 in circumstances that constitute war crimes under the Commonwealth Criminal Code”.

“The offence of war crime murder carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. It will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murders in Afghanistan.

“It will be alleged the victims were detained, unarmed, and were under the control of ADF members when they were killed.

“It will be alleged the victims were shot by the accused or shot by subordinate members of the ADF in the presence of and acting on the orders of the accused.”

Hugh Poate, the father of slain Aussie soldier Robert Poate, called the arrest “totally unjust”.

“It shows the scales of justice are totally unbalanced. The OSI has spent ten years and over $300 million, determined to find enough evidence to arrest Ben for allegedly murdering three Afghans, but successive governments have taken no action at all to capture Hekmatullah who proudly confessed in the Afghan Supreme Court to murdering three Australian soldiers, my son Private Robert Poate, lance corporal Rick Milosevick and Sapper James Martin,” he said.

Former prime minister Tony Abbott also weighed in, saying that “as prime minister during multiple deployments ... I could not have asked for a more loyal and professional military and my respect for their service is undiminished”.

“Of course, there are rules that have to be observed and enforced, even against soldiers in times of war. Still, it’s wrong to judge the actions of men in mortal combat by the standards of ordinary civilian life,” he said.

“If Ben Roberts-Smith transgressed, why wasn’t this picked up prior to his gallantry awards and why wasn’t any culture of brutality towards prisoners detected by his more senior officers, and dealt with quickly, rather than being allowed to fester, as has been alleged, for over a decade?

“The Brereton investigation commenced in 2016 and only concluded in 2020. The first war crime charge against a former special forces soldier was only laid in 2023 and three years later, this has still not been finalised.

“After doing their best to serve our country, dozens of former special forces soldiers should not still be in limbo years later because of ongoing investigations that have only resulted in charges in two cases.

“Justice delayed is justice denied. If evidence is clear, and cases are strong, they should be brought and concluded without delay. Otherwise, people should be cleared to get on with their lives lest the process itself become the punishment.”

Ms Barrett said the charges related to “a very small section” of the Australian Defence Force.

“The overwhelming majority of our ADF do our country proud,” she said.

“Today’s charges are not reflective of the majority members who serve under the our Australian flag with honour with distinction and with the values of a democratic nation. Today is a day to rally behind the ADF and be mindful of the families whose loved ones have died while serving our country.”

Ms Hanson rounded out her statement by saying that both the AFP and the Office of Special Investigations had spent “$300 million dollars over 10 years to get to this point”.