Australia news LIVE: Ben Roberts-Smith loses defamation case against Nine newspapers in historic win; PM heads to Singapore
Save articles for later
Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.
Key posts
- A witness tells his truth of day he will never forget
- The prime minister’s biggest moment on the world stage has arrived
- Joe Biden trips on stage after speech at US Air Force Academy
- This morning’s headlines at a glance
-
1 of 1
A witness tells his truth of day he will never forget
On a brisk spring morning in 2018, two special forces veterans of Australia’s war in Afghanistan entered a busy café in Canberra and, after pleasantries, began a grim-faced meeting. To the public servants sipping their coffees nearby, the pair would probably have stoked interest because of the identity of one of them.
At six foot six, and as wide as an English oak, Ben Roberts-Smith, VC, was hard to miss. On the morning in question – Friday, October 18 – Roberts-Smith was the most decorated Commonwealth veteran to have served in Afghanistan, an ex-soldier whose portrait hung in the nearby war memorial in testament to his status as the noble face of the Afghanistan conflict.
SAS Soldiers on Patrol near Bagram Afghanistan. The soldiers work in pairs of three helping with the War On Terror after the September 11 attacks on America, 16 January 2003. THE AGE Picture by SIMON O DWYER SPECIALX 00000000 EDITEDCredit: Simon O’Dwyer
The war hero had also more recently intensified his very public campaign to clear his name of allegations detailed months earlier in this masthead.
The stories raised the prospect that Australia’s most revered military figure was also its most notorious war criminal, and that oversight and ethics had collapsed in some pockets of the nation’s elite Special Air Service Regiment.
Keep reading the latest story on this from Nick McKenzie.
The prime minister’s biggest moment on the world stage has arrived
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be in Singapore today to deliver his most significant foreign policy speech yet.
Defence secretaries and ministers from the United States, China and elsewhere are heading to the plush surrounds of the Shangri-La hotel on Orchard Road for Asia’s leading security summit.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will speak in Singapore tonight.Credit: Alex Ellinghausen
But it is Albanese who has top billing, giving him a platform to lay out the Australian government’s world view at a time of heightened superpower competition and concern about the potential for conflict.
The Australian leader is the keynote speaker at tonight’s opening-night dinner, following in the footsteps of Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who delivered last year’s main address, and Malcolm Turnbull, who was the headline act in 2017 when he was the Australian PM.
The full story on the prime minister’s visit to Singapore is here.
Joe Biden trips on stage after speech at US Air Force Academy
President Joe Biden tripped and fell after handing out the last diploma at a graduation ceremony at the US Air Force Academy on Thursday, but got up quickly and walked back to his seat.
The 80-year-old US president fell forward, caught himself with his hands, then got up on one knee helped by three people. He walked back to his seat unassisted.
After Biden was helped up, he pointed behind him, seeming to indicate what he tripped over. He mingled with other officials afterward, smiling and giving a “thumbs up” sign.
US President Joe Biden falls on stage during the 2023 United States Air Force Academy graduation ceremony in Colorado Springs.Credit: AP
White House communications director Ben LaBolt said on Twitter that Biden was fine.
“There was a sandbag on stage while he was shaking hands,” he explained.
Read more on what happened here, from AP and Reuters.
This morning’s headlines at a glance
Good morning, and thanks for your company.
I’m Caroline Schelle, and I’ll be anchoring our live coverage for the first half of the day. It’s Friday, June 2.
Here’s what you need to know before we get started:
- A Federal Court judge found decorated soldier Ben Roberts-Smith murdered four unarmed prisoners in Afghanistan. Now a witness has told this masthead about the moment he saw another man murdered during his time as an SAS scout.
- The court case may be over, but the bid to achieve justice over alleged war crimes committed by Australian service members in Afghanistan is in its infancy, Matthew Knott writes.
- Prime Minister Anthony Albanese will be in Singapore today where he will deliver his most significant foreign policy speech yet.
- The Fair Work Commission will broadcast the result of its latest wage review this morning, which is expected to impact on 2.67 million of the lowest-paid Australians.
Ben Roberts-Smith leaving the Federal Court in 2021. Credit: Rhett Wyman
- The Australian Taxation Office says secrecy rules prevented it from raising concerns about the PwC tax leak as early as 2016, and the Attorney-General’s Department is reviewing the provisions.
- Integrity experts back Victoria’s opposition in calling for the state government to wean itself off its reliance on consultants as the PwC scandal deepens.
- In NSW, a new state Liberal MP told parliament traditional school hours are a “relic of a sexist, bygone era” which assumes women do not work and has called for extended school days.
- In overseas news, US President Joe Biden has tripped on stage following a speech at the country’s Air Force Academy.
-
1 of 1
Most Viewed in National
Source: Read Full Article