Roberts-Smith denies war crimes in tell-all interview
Australia’s most decorated soldier has vehemently denied war crime allegations in a lengthy interview before his blockbuster criminal trial.
Ben Roberts-Smith, a former SAS soldier, was arrested in April and charged with the offences of murdering or ordering the murders of five unarmed detainees while deployed in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2012.
He sat down for a two-and-a-half-hour interview with Sydney radio 2GB’s Ben Fordham, which was broadcast on YouTube on Thursday morning.
Mr Fordham explicitly asked the 47-year-old if he shot civilians.
“I didn’t bloody murder anyone,” Roberts-Smith said.
Answering a series of rapid-fire questions, Roberts-Smith bluntly denied the accusations.
“Did you shoot prisoners?” Mr Fordham asked.
“No,” Roberts-Smith replied.
“Did you see anyone else shooting prisoners?”
“No.”
A Federal Court judge previously found Roberts-Smith was responsible for a number of killings, in a landmark defamation trial against Nine newspapers.
Justice Anthony Besanko found Roberts-Smith machine-gunned an unarmed prisoner in the back during a 2009 raid on a compound codenamed Whiskey 108, taking the man’s prosthetic leg back to Australia to use as a beer-drinking vessel.
But Roberts-Smith bluntly rejected allegations he drank from it.
“I didn’t drink out of it, which is just the truth. I did not and that’s for personal reasons,” he told Mr Fordham.
“The dark humour … military organisations rely upon to maintain their sanity will sometimes be misconstrued.”
In the wide-ranging conversation, which was conducted in Queensland on October 8, Roberts-Smith described his arrest on a plane as he arrived into Sydney from Brisbane on April 6, despite previously offering to turn himself in to police.
He was visiting Sydney for the day for a surprise shopping trip for his teenage daughters.
“It was a show arrest, and I think everyone’s accepted that,” Roberts-Smith said.
He also described his 10 days in a “suicide cell” at Silverwater prison, saying he was forced to wrap underwear over his head to block out the fluorescent lights while he slept.
His court case is next set to be heard at Downing Centre Local Court in December, and will eventually proceed to trial.
He raised concerns about finding 12 jury members who had not already formed an opinion about his guilt or innocence.
“Can there be a fair trial? I can’t answer that question. I’m sure that argument’s going to be had,” Roberts-Smith said.
At times emotional and choking back tears when discussing members of his battalion killed, the former soldier insisted he operated within the rules of engagement.
“I’ve never committed a war crime in my military career,” he said.
Roberts-Smith said he did not regret a single thing.
The Victoria Cross recipient is accused of machine-gunning Afghan prisoner Mohammed Essa and ordering the execution of his son Ahmadullah to “blood the rookie” during a raid at a compound in April 2009.
The then-SAS soldier allegedly placed firearms on the bodies to falsely claim they were enemy combatants, court documents said.
In August 2012, at the village of Darwan, Roberts-Smith is accused of kicking a handcuffed man named Ali Jan off a 10-metre cliff before ordering that he be dragged to a creek bed and shot.
Two months later at Syahchow, he allegedly lined up two prisoners in a corn field before shooting one of them alongside another soldier.
He ordered a subordinate to shoot the other prisoner before throwing a grenade on the bodies to cover up what he had done, prosecutors allege.
“All I’m asking for is a fair shake, mate,” Roberts-Smith said regarding the ongoing court case.
‘Gas or starvation’: infrastructure boss backs projects
People would starve without natural gas and its role in food production, an energy infrastructure boss has said in defence of his company’s future projects.
Energy infrastructure company APA Group will spend $700 million towards a pipeline to deliver gas from Queensland to NSW.
But activist shareholders at the company’s annual meeting have questioned the viability of future greenfield gas projects.
Almost half of the world’s fertiliser depended on natural gas, chief executive and managing director Adam Watson told APA shareholders in Sydney on Thursday.
“Yes, there are time risks, obviously, but what’s better, gas or starvation?” he said.
Gas energy generation resulted in half the carbon emissions compared to coal, he argued.
“I agree it’s not perfect, agree that it has emissions, and agree if the technology was there to be able to do something different, then we and everybody else would be doing it,” Mr Watson said.
“We are, with respect to renewables, but at the end of the day, gas plays an absolutely critical role.”
APA Group also develops wind farms, solar farms and storage batteries.
In a contentious AGM, one shareholder resolution demanded transparency on the viability of new gas projects as nations’ Paris climate goals impacted demand.
The motion, launched by environmental non-profit Market Forces, was backed by more than 115 shareholders, including US and Norwegian pension funds.
It questioned APA’s planned multibillion-dollar North to East Australia Pipeline, which would transport fracking gas from the NT’s Beetaloo Basin.
“APA is relying on fantasy demand scenarios that ignore an impending global liquefied natural gas glut while major energy companies have ruled out the economic viability of Beetaloo fracking,” Market Forces corporate campaigner Angelica Mantikas said.
Furthermore, most of the gas from Beetaloo would go overseas, Australian Institute co-chief executive and economist Richard Dennis said.
The think tank has thrown its support behind other groups calling for a flat 25 per cent tax on gas exports.
“This would raise more than $17 billion a year which could be spent on Australian schools, hospitals, roads, aged care, disability care and so much more,” Mr Dennis said.
APA’s leader rubbished the idea, telling AAP there was no industry in Australia without gas, which was used in producing steel, bricks, fertiliser, cement and glass.
“There is no energy security in Australia without gas,” he said.
“To start taxing the producers to make their businesses uneconomical, (then) we are in a world of pain.”
The underground Bulloo Interlink Pipeline announced on Thursday is the third stage of the company’s east coast grid expansion, designed to shore up supply and deliver gas along the east coast as Bass Strait gas reserves dry up.
APA also entered a five-year east coast gas transport and storage deal with Origin Energy which, along with federal Labor’s proposed domestic gas reservation plan, could drive longer-term price contracting.
Mr Watson said the reservation would be good for the nation, but the government needed to balance industry and consumer needs.
“We need to get the balance right to ensure that there are competitive prices, affordable prices there for customers, but also ensuring there are still incentives to invest in new supply,” he said.
Aussie shares dip as metals prices drag miners into red
Australia’s share market has lost ground, led by a slump in mining stocks as interest rate worries and AI uncertainty impacted gold and copper prices.
The S&P/ASX200 fell 38.1 points on Thursday, down 0.43 per cent, to 8793.2, as the broader All Ordinaries lost 39.5 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 8917.1.
Energy and materials stocks dragged the bourse into the red, following a fresh wave of global AI jitters and the data centre build-out, Global X senior strategist Marc Jocum said.
“That nervousness is hitting closer to home, with Firmus pulling its IPO and NEXTDC suffering a spectacular sell-off yesterday,” he said.
“The concern is that the infrastructure build-out is running ahead of its ability to deliver returns.”
Copper prices fell to five-week lows, weighing on mining juggernaut BHP, which fell 2.4 per cent to $57.13 as its leaders fronted shareholders at the group’s annual meeting.
Fortescue tumbled more than four per cent as its stand-off with China’s state-backed ore buyer deepened, while iron ore futures lingered below $US96 a tonne.
Gold stocks were a sea of red as the metal’s spot price fell to $US4089 ($A5828) an ounce, with high bond yields still impacting the investor case for precious metals.
Energy stocks were also under pressure despite Brent crude topping $US111 a barrel after the US ordered diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia as Houthi attacks continue.
Refinery operator Viva Energy stood out at a company level, dropping almost five per cent after its trading update failed to impress.
Consumer retail was the third sector facing significant selling, down 1.7 per cent in a broad-based sell-off.
The move came a day after hawkish commentary from Reserve Bank deputy governor Andrew Hauser narrowed the odds of a November interest rate hike.
All eyes were on next week’s inflation print, Global X’s Mr Jocum said.
“A hotter-than-expected reading could cement expectations of a Melbourne Cup Day rate hike, leaving the RBA with little room to hold its horses,” he said.
Financials ended the session 0.4 per cent higher with help from a rally in major insurers, as the major banks grasped modest gains.
In company news, APA Group will spend $700 million developing a pipeline linking gas infrastructure in Queensland and NSW as it looks to shore up east coast supply.
Australian biotechnology giant CSL will defend a class action over allegations relating to revenue projections and expected financial performance in the 2026 financial year.
The news came a day after CSL announced British pharmaceutical executive Deborah Waterhouse will take the reins as chief executive and managing director from February 2027.
The Australian dollar is buying 70.12 US cents, down from 70.17 US cents on Wednesday at 5pm.
ON THE ASX:
* The S&P/ASX200 fell 38.1 points, or 0.43 per cent, to 8793.2
* The broader All Ordinaries lost 39.5 points, or 0.44 per cent, to 8917.1
One Australian dollar trades for:
* 70.12 US cents, from 70.17 US cents at 5pm on Wednesday
* 110.35 Japanese yen, from 110.98 Japanese yen
* 62.35 euro cents, from 62.52 euro cents
* 52.33 British pence, from 52.46 pence
* 123.25 NZ cents, from 123.65 NZ cents
Labor’s tax stance targeted ahead of state election
The federal opposition leader has made a rare appearance alongside a state counterpart to demand clarity over credit card payment options for government agencies.
Making their first public appearance together in Melbourne on Thursday, Victorian Opposition Leader Jess Wilson and federal counterpart Angus Taylor demanded guarantees federal and state agencies would not impose the credit card payment bans recently earmarked by the Australian Tax Office.
Mr Taylor and Ms Wilson have each written to the prime minister and premier asking for clarification that other agencies, such as Victoria’s State Revenue Office, will not move to ban credit card payments.
“It’s time for the prime minister to step in, scrap the ban on credit cards from the ATO … but also make clear that no other agency is going to do the same thing,” Mr Taylor said.
“We need to give a fair go to small businesses in Victoria and right across the country.”
The federal tax office received a widespread backlash from small businesses earlier in October after revealing it would stop accepting credit card payments by December in response to a surcharge ban by the Reserve Bank.
Government intervention saw the policy’s roll out delayed to June 30, 2027.
“The transition period, as it turned out from stakeholder feedback, wasn’t enough, and so that’s where the government stepped in,” Assistant Treasurer Daniel Mulino said.
There has been no indication Victoria’s revenue office, which collects payments for a range of state levies such as land tax and payroll tax, will stop accepting credit card payments.
The office in September stopped credit card surcharges in accordance with the Reserve Bank’s decision, and says credit card costs will be funded internally moving forward.
However, Ms Wilson said she did not trust Labor’s stance, arguing Victorian businesses had endured a pile on of tax increases and additional charges under Labor.
“We want to make sure that small businesses, that they are not going to see what they’ve seen at a federal level from” the State Revenue Office, Ms Wilson said.
“I simply do not trust Labor when it comes to backing small businesses.”
Victorian Treasurer Colin Brooks rubbished the Liberal Party’s calls as fake news, stating the state government has not and will not restrict credit card payments following the federal government changes.
“There are no changes to how people can use credit cards with the State Revenue Office in Victoria – and there never will be under Labor,” he said.
“Instead of dreaming up problems that don’t exist, Jess Wilson should start explaining how she’s going to pay for her $40 billion cuts plan with One Nation.”
House prices plummet as Labor points to bigger picture
Australia has just recorded a house price slump the likes of which it has only ever seen twice, but the government has urged home-owners to keep the faith.
Weakened buyer confidence has driven house prices down across every capital city for the first time in 15 years and the second time ever, according to Domain’s September Quarter 2026 House Price report.
Australian house prices fell a record 4.7 per cent over the quarter with Perth recording the sharpest drop of 7.4 per cent, while Brisbane and Adelaide also logged their steepest house-price falls on record.
Median house prices in Sydney are at a two-year low after falling 4.7 per cent in the September quarter, to $1.66 million, while Melbourne registered its largest quarterly fall in four years.
Housing Minister Clare O’Neill said the movement still reflected the cyclical nature of the nation’s property market.
“This is the third or fourth downturn in house prices that we’ve seen just in the last decade … it is unfair to report about house-price growth looking at this just in the last six months,” she told ABC Radio on Thursday.
“We do need to slow house-price growth around Australia, and if that is controversial to you, I’m happy to wear the controversy.”
Labor has copped some blame for the downturn over ending negative gearing and paring back the discount on capital gains tax in May’s federal budget.
But because those changes don’t enter force until July 2027, economists have largely attributed the falls to the Reserve Bank hiking the cash rate to its highest level in 15 years.
While a softer jobs figures for September lengthened the odds of a Melbourne Cup day rate rise, RBA deputy governor Andrew Hauser on Wednesday maintained there were “hard choices” ahead and reiterated the November meeting was live.
Higher inflation expectations were becoming embedded as the Middle East supply shock dragged on, which he described as “a central banker’s nightmare”, he said.
Inflation was “higher than we would like for longer than we would like,” Finance Minister Katy Gallagher told ABC News on Thursday, but she said housing was a long-term investment that could weather a fluctuating market.
Ms O’Neill said the government’s tax changes would have enduring beneficial consequences to the housing market beyond the Reserve Bank’s decision-making.
“The changes that we have made to the housing market are permanent changes that, for the first time at every auction around the country, put a first-home buyer on a level playing field with an investor,” she said.
Some, including Melbourne couple Jessica Ongarello and Callum McIntyre, have managed to take advantage of the tumbling market.
“We saw how depressed the market was and we’re like, this is our opportunity to buy in the area that we want to live in,” Ms Ongarello told AAP.
Ms Ongarello said her bank’s lending calculation was revised after September’s interest rate rise, which left her with a home loan offer $100,000 lower than the initial quote.
“We’ve missed out a couple of times now on being a successful bidder because of that,” she said.
House prices could continue to fall for many months to come, Domain chief residential economist Nicola Powell told AAP.
“Something needs to shift to alter the confidence to transact, and I cannot envisage the confidence changing until we see an interest rate cut,” she said.
“And ultimately that prospect is in the latter part of next year.”
Tesla’s Q3 profit drops 44 per cent from year earlier
Tesla has reported a decline in profit for the latest quarter as it prepares for a possible merger with Elon Musk’s other big business, SpaceX.
The electric vehicle maker reported third-quarter net income of $US787 million ($A1.1 billion), or 22 cents per share, down 44 per cent from the year-earlier period.
Excluding certain items, though, earnings per share of 48 cents beat Wall Street analyst expectations by three cents.
Revenue was basically flat at $US28 billion, falling slightly short of analysts’ forecasts.
In a SpaceX conference call, Musk said a long-rumoured merger with Tesla might be in the works.
He said special committees had been set up at each company to discuss a possible combination, while cautioning that many hurdles remain.
A positive for the quarter was free cash flow, or cash available after subtracting investments needed to keep the business running. Tesla reported $US1.5 billion, a surprise to analysts who had expected the company would be burning through cash, not generating it.
Profit margins also held up despite concerns that discounts to boost sales may have squeezed profitability in recent quarters. For the three months through September, Tesla reported it made 18.1 cents for every dollar of car sales, up almost three cents from a year earlier.
Tesla had previously reported selling nearly 490,000 vehicles last quarter, a rise from the prior three months. The increase followed a brutal drop stretching more than a year amid backlash over Musk’s support for US President Donald Trump and right wing politicians in Europe.
The company increased capital spending, a major concern for tech investors who’ve been questioning future payoffs from artificial intelligence and how the investments will be financed. Tesla’s capital spending doubled in the third quarter to $US4.7 billion.
Inflation below forecast but still hot in New Zealand
Inflation in New Zealand has come in a tick under expectations, raising hopes the central bank could stay a rate rise next week.
However, an annual consumers price index of 3.7 per cent – driven by fuel costs – remains too hot to handle, meaning it’s a matter of when not if for the Reserve Bank (RBNZ).
Thursday’s release from Stats NZ carries great political rammifications, with voting already underway in New Zealand’s November 7 election.
On that score, it’s a bittersweet result for the National party and its governing coalition.
The rate wasn’t as high as most retail banks and the RBNZ were forecasting, and is a dip from 4.1 per cent in the year to June.
Still, inflation has now been outside the target bank for a year, leading to two rate rises in the past six months.
A third was 25 basis point rise was considered 75 per cent likely at next week’s RBNZ meeting.
That decision, on October 28, will now come into sharp focus.
ASB senior economist Mark Smith said they believed CPI would stay outside the target band for at least two years, which would require the RBNZ to get moving next week.
“We currently expect 25bp hikes in October and December and a 3.25 per cent OCR peak,” he said.
“However, risks to the OCR over 2027 are heavily skewed to the upside, with our OCR forecasts under review.”
In a cost of living election, the result is a reminder of the price pain felt by many Kiwis: especially at the service station.
Petrol costs represented a sixth of overall price growth, soaring by 19 per cent in the year to September.
Fuel monitoring website Gaspy shows the average price of unleaded petrol at $NZ3.56 ($A2.88) a litre, up eight per cent in a month.
Earlier in the term, Prime Minister Chris Luxon took credit for a run of 225 basis points of post-pandemic easing to 2.25 per cent.
Now, the official cash rate is back up to 2.75 per cent, and likely to climb.
The key political question is whether it will happen in the fortnight before the election, or afterwards.
Also on Thursday, the NZ Herald released the results of its anticipated ‘Mood of the Boardroom’ survey of chief executives.
Education Minister Erica Stanford was named business’ favourite politician, with Mr Luxon ranked 15th of the 28 ministers.
He still crushed Labour leader Chris Hipkins as the preferred prime minister, scoring 65 per cent support to three.
Mr Hipkins shook off the result, telling Newstalk ZB it was “not really a target audience for me”.
“I’m more interested in the mood of the smoko room than the mood of the board room,” he said.
Polls show an incredibly tight race between the left and right blocs to govern.
AI could take ‘real weight’ off small business
Small businesses drowning in admin could save time and boost productivity by integrating artificial intelligence into everyday operations.
The average small or medium-sized business could achieve an estimated yearly productivity gain of $136,000 by adopting AI broadly and cutting time spent on administrative tasks, such as payroll and rostering, a report has found.
This could inject $93 billion into the national economy, the report by The Tech Council of Australia says.
The research found 94 per cent of small and medium-sized businesses using AI reported productivity improvements, while 54 per cent of employees reported higher job satisfaction.
While these businesses employ nearly two-thirds of the country’s workforce, only one in four were using the technology and just five per cent were using it broadly.
The research highlighted the untapped potential of AI, tech council chief executive Kate Cornick said.
“There is a significant gap between what AI could deliver and what small businesses are currently getting from it,” Dr Cornick said.
She said reducing time spent on administration could make a difference, particularly to businesses already buckling under rising costs and staffing pressures.
Regional businesses were behind those in metropolitan areas, Dr Cornick said, urging government and industry to provide targeted support by building on existing programs.
A key finding highlighted that barriers hindering businesses from getting started included a limited understanding of AI, concerns about security and reliability and uncertainty about the return on investment.
Employment Hero co-founder and chief executive Ben Thompson said AI would take a “real weight” off small businesses.
“Ask a small business owner what tasks consume their week and they’ll say payroll, super, awards and compliance,” he said.
“Lift small business productivity and you lift the country’s.”
Warning websites may go dark as critical fix prepared
The developers of widely used software are releasing patches for two critical vulnerabilities, as organisations unable to apply the fixes are warned to take affected websites offline.
The PHP programming language is used across large parts of the internet, and speculation has circulated over the past day that websites running the software could be exposed to serious cyber intrusions.
“PHP is everywhere,” cybersecurity company Huntress said in a blog post.
“It quietly powers WordPress, Drupal, Joomla, and Magento sites, shared hosting platforms, control panels, and an awful lot of software that doesn’t even advertise that it runs PHP under the hood.”
In a security update, PHP said both vulnerabilities were rated 9.2 on the CVSS v4.0 severity scale – with 10 being the highest score – and urged users to “upgrade as soon as the release is available”.
It said a patch for both vulnerabilities was scheduled for 2pm GMT on Wednesday (1am AEDT on Thursday).
The European Union Computer Emergency Response Team warned the 9.2 rating indicated a risk of unauthenticated remote code execution, a type of flaw that can allow attackers to run malicious code on vulnerable systems without logging in.
It urged organisations to prepare for the immediate patching of affected assets and said those unable to do so should consider taking affected sites offline.
The Australian Cyber Security Centre issued similar guidance, urging organisations to identify PHP systems in their environments, prepare to apply patches and monitor applications for signs of malicious activity.
“ACSC is currently not aware of active exploitation related to these vulnerabilities,” the agency said.
Both said all PHP versions from PHP 5 onward could be affected, although PHP has not disclosed which versions are vulnerable.
Web hosting provider GoDaddy said the flaws could allow attackers to execute code on affected servers over the internet, potentially leading to data theft, website defacement or full system compromise.
Dane Knecht, the chief technology officer of web and cloud security firm Cloudflare, said attacks were emerging and Cloudflare was updating its firewall rules as a stopgap measure.
“We are seeing early attacks emerging and are updating mitigations as new vectors show up. This is a STOPGAP only. Patch as soon as PHP releases the update,” he said on X.
PHP’s security team said details of the vulnerabilities, affected versions and the fixed releases would be published when patches were issued.
With Reuters
MP loses second leg but husband reveals ‘good news’
Independent MP Helen Haines has lost both legs in hospital after allegedly being rammed by a four-wheel drive outside her electoral office in Wangaratta.
Dr Haines’ husband Phil Haines confirmed the member for Indi’s left leg was amputated on Monday and medical staff were unable to save her right leg on Wednesday afternoon.
“But the good news in all this is Helen is alive and she’s stable,” Mr Haines told reporters inside The Alfred Hospital in Melbourne.
“We are grateful and thankful that, at this stage, both her heart and her mind are in good shape.”
The incident comes just weeks before the couple were due to celebrate their 40th wedding anniversary.
“Thanks to (the) many people who have been incredibly supportive of our family the last two days since this horrendous incident took place … we will need that over the next few days and beyond,” Mr Haines said.
Governor-General Sam Mostyn, a close friend to Dr Haines, highlighted the “extraordinary” character of the bystanders, including barber Ricky Jeffries, who was one of the first on the scene.
She said she had discussed the importance of civil debate and civic engagement with Dr Haines during a meeting in her electorate earlier in October.
“Australians have good hearts, great hearts … we don’t have to all agree, but we can wrestle the issue, not the person, just as Helen has done throughout her time in Parliament.”
Ms Mostyn said she has provided King Charles III regular updates on the “shocking” situation.
The man accused of deliberately running down the MP will remain behind bars for months while the alleged attack is investigated by counter-terrorism authorities.
Tarrawingee man Brendan Nugent, 43, has been charged with dangerous driving causing serious harm, intentionally causing serious harm, and causing harm to a Commonwealth public official over the incident which left Dr Haines fighting for her life.
It’s alleged he intentionally struck the 65-year-old MP with his Toyota LandCruiser outside her electorate office in Wangaratta, northern Victoria, on Monday afternoon.
During Nugent’s brief court appearance on Wednesday, his lawyer Chirag Patel said the man suffered a rare neurological condition called idiopathic transverse myelitis, caused by a swollen spinal chord, as well as concussion.
He had not being diagnosed with mental health problems, but Mr Patel said he had concerns about his client’s psychological wellbeing and wanted him to see a medical practitioner.
Nugent sat quietly in the dock in the packed courtroom, his mouth shut and dark circles around his eyes.
Cultivating and possessing marijuana were among the charges on his rap sheet, court documents show.
Nugent did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody to face court again in February.
Law enforcement have not ruled out further charges, including attempted murder, Victoria Police Commissioner Mike Bush said on Wednesday.
Nugent’s former primary school teacher on Wednesday told AAP the accused attacker had been a good kid, but probably had deeper-seated issues.
Jacquie, who preferred not to give her surname, described him as withdrawn, but “beautiful, like most of the kids were”.
Mr Bush said authorities were also investigating any prior personal personal relationship between Dr Haines and Nugent.
“We’re examining social media associations, talking to witnesses, friends and colleagues,” the police commissioner said.
The accused’s father, Rod Nugent, and Rod’s partner Christine Cunningham on Tuesday revealed they had been friends with Dr Haines for more than 20 years, calling the alleged attack “devastating and unfathomable”.
Immediately after she was hit by the large off-roader, Dr Haines was still talking and thanking bystanders who intervened, eyewitnesses have reported.
Jacob Evans and Jacklyn Black, who were visiting Wangaratta from Melbourne, rushed to the MP’s side on Monday despite not knowing her “from a bar of soap”, they told AAP.
“She was thanking us and calling us beautiful people,” Ms Black said.