RSL Australia says it ‘will not allow the alleged conduct of individuals to define the service of the many’

The Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL) says “confidence and belief in the judicial system remain as important as ever” after today’s arrest of Afghanistan war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith.

In a statement, RSL Australia said it “strongly supports the Australian judicial system and has confidence that it will thoroughly and fairly deal with the allegations of unlawful killings by Australian Special Forces soldiers in Afghanistan”.

The RSL Australia national president, Peter Tinley, said:

As the current case goes before the courts, it must be allowed to run its course without interference.

Without doubt, the overwhelming majority of Australians who served in Afghanistan did so with honour, bravery and at significant personal cost. RSL Australia will not and Australia should not, allow the alleged conduct of individuals to define the service of the many.

Regardless of the legal proceedings, RSL Australia’s primary responsibility is to the veteran community, and we are here to support all those who may be impacted …

The RSL is deeply concerned that the process has taken too long, and has delayed resolution for the accused, for Afghan families who were promised accountability, and for the wider veteran community whose service has been framed by unresolved allegations.

‘We are incredibly proud of our serving ADF personnel and our veterans,’ Coalition says

The Coalition has issued a statement about the “arrest of a former Australian soldier”.

It says “a legal process must be allowed to take its course” and “every Australian is entitled to the presumption of innocence until proven otherwise”.

But today, the Coalition wants to acknowledge the extraordinary role of our special forces.

The developments we’re seeing should not detract from the respect and gratitude we hold for the men and women who serve this nation in some of the most difficult and dangerous circumstances imaginable.

We cannot allow this generation of veterans to be treated like many who returned from Vietnam, left to carry stigma for decades. Today’s charges do not diminish in any way the service of the vast majority of our men and women in uniform.

The statement was attributed to the opposition leader, Angus Taylor, shadow minister for veteran affairs, Michael McCormack, shadow minister for defence personnel, Phillip Thompson, and shadow minister for defence, James Paterson.

Australia cuts access to world’s biggest telescopes at ‘very moment the world is looking up’

Industry peak bodies have condemned the Australian government’s decision to withdraw from its association with the European Southern Observatory (ESO) – a move that cuts off scientists’ access to some of the world’s largest telescopes.

A partnership with the ESO had since 2017 given Australian researchers access to facilities including the Very Large Telescope, a world-leading facility in Chile.

The decision was announced on Thursday, the same day as the historic launch of Artemis II, whose astronauts today travelled the farthest distance from Earth in human history. It means that Australian access to the ESO will be shut off from 2027.

Prof Margaret Sheil, the secretary of science policy at the Australian Academy of Science, said the timing made the decision harder to understand.

She said:

Stepping back from a flagship international collaboration at the very moment the world is looking up risks dimming that inspiration for a generation …

Stepping back now risks long-term damage to our capability and competitiveness, and this decision means Australia will no longer remain at the forefront of astronomy research and discovery.

Full membership of the ESO was a key recommendation of the AAS’s decadal plan that launched last year.

Jas Chambers, the president of Science & Technology Australia, said:

If Australia loses access to the world’s leading and some of our largest telescopes, we risk seeing our best and brightest researchers, engineers, data scientists and technicians take their skills overseas.

Chambers warned:

By stepping back from ESO, Australia risks losing not only scientific leadership, but the broader economic and industrial benefits that come with it. Our ESO partnership has led to millions of dollars of manufacturing contracts and numerous advanced fabrication jobs.

Australia’s astronomy sector contributes an estimated $330m annually to the economy.

Bruce Lehrmann’s trial date to face rape charges can now be revealed

The former political staffer Bruce Lehrmann’s trial date to face rape charges can now be revealed after an application for a blanket non-publication order over the case was withdrawn, AAP reports.

Lehrmann, 30, is set to stand trial from 2 November, just over five years after the alleged offences took place at a house in regional Queensland.

Lawyers for Nine Entertainment, News Corp and the ABC were informed last week that Lehrmann was no longer attempting to ban all media coverage of his court case before the trial.

The district court judge Deborah Richards on Tuesday confirmed the temporary non-publication order over the entire case had been allowed to expire.

On 18 March the defence solicitor Zali Burrows had sought blanket suppression over the case, saying further news reports would generate “adverse publicity” and serve as a “vehicle for commentating on social media”.

“We seek (the order) to preserve for Mr Lehrmann to have a fair trial,” Burrows said.

Richards imposed the temporary non-publication order the next day, with the media organisations due to challenge a permanent order at a hearing on 9 April.

Burrows was asked by Richards if Lehrmann would seek a jury trial or a trial before a judge alone.

“It may be [before a jury]. Mr Lehrmann is still deciding,” Burrows said.

Lehrmann is accused of raping a woman twice during the morning of 10 October 2021 after a night out in Toowoomba, west of Brisbane.

He was charged in January 2023 and committed in July 2024 to stand trial after hearings in Toowoomba magistrates court.

Lehrmann, who is on bail, has yet to formally enter a plea but previously indicated he would contest the charges.

Lehrmann previously worked in Canberra’s Parliament House for the then Liberal senator and minister Linda Reynolds.

Alleged links to sanctioned ‘scam’ empire revealed in Timor-Leste

An exclusive investigation by Guardian Australia and the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project has found that a planned resort beside Dili airport in Timor-Leste is at the heart of a cryptocurrency and blockchain network known as AB.

The promotional material from June last year pitched a sprawling, futuristic development that would hug the coastline of Timor-Leste, one of the world’s poorest countries, and donate a percentage of profits to philanthropy.

But in February, when a joint investigative team visited the proposed site of the AB Digital Technology Resort – separated from Dili airport by a barbed-wire fence – they found an empty plot dotted with shrubs.

Read more here:

Man charged with murder over stabbing on Central Coast

A man is in custody after being charged with murder following an alleged stabbing on the NSW Central Coast overnight.

Emergency services were called to a property on Buff Point Avenue, about 4km south of Doyalson, about 8pm on Monday after reports of an assault.

Police said the two men knew each other and were involved in an altercation, which led to the 42-year-old being stabbed.

Paramedics treated him, but he could not be revived.

A 20-year-old man was arrested nearby and taken to the Gosford police station, where he was charged with murder.

He was refused bail and appeared before a bail division court today.

David Shoebridge says Ben Roberts-Smith arrest demonstrates need for dedicated war crimes investigations unit

The Greens senator David Shoebridge says the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith is a “moment of accountability” for the nation that highlights “the appalling cost of war on all sides”.

Shoebridge released a statement saying troop deployments overseas come with an “enormous cost to people on the ground who face the horror and brutality of war”. He went on:

If justice is to be fully delivered there must be further and closer attention paid to the role of senior officers who directed and oversaw Australia’s deployment in Afghanistan.

The Greens continue to push for a dedicated War Crimes investigation unit within the AFP to build the expertise to rapidly investigate war crimes offences going forward.

No one, whether accused or survivor, benefits from the delays we have seen to date.

That’s all from me. Ima Caldwell will take the blog from here. Take care!

More on the ‘needle-free alternative’ for flu vaccines for NSW kids

As we reported earlier, hundreds of thousands of children, aged 2 to 4, will be able to access a painless, needle-free flu vaccination for free as governments attempt to curb falling vaccine rates.

AAP reports New South Wales has become the latest state to offer a nasal spray flu vaccine to children for free, following Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.

The needle-less vaccine is applied with one spray into each nostril, making it a gentle and painless option that could make it easier for parents to get their children vaccinated.

“I know how unsettling it can be for some parents taking a child to receive a vaccine, so being able to offer a needle-free alternative is a real win for those parents,” the NSW health minister, Ryan Park, said on Tuesday.

Read more here:

Greens say Australia needs to distance itself from ‘unstable, bloodthirsty’ Donald Trump

The Greens say Donald Trump’s latest threats directed at Iran underscore the need for Australia to distance itself from the US president, particularly after his criticism of Australia and other Nato allies for not helping his war effort.

Acting Greens leader, Mehreen Faruqi, said in a statement today:

It is time for Albanese to dump Trump, bring the troops home, and focus on helping Australians deal with the fallout of this catastrophe.

Australia must not stay hitched to the wagon of an unstable, bloodthirsty President who even his domestic allies say has “gone insane”. He criticises Australia near daily, yet Labor is unwilling to condemn him and his actions.

Faruqi went on to say “silence is not enough,” adding:

Australians oppose this war, and expect our government to do the same, by actively organising to prevent escalation and war crimes.

Fuel shortages in NSW almost halve in a week

Fuel shortages have continued to drop in NSW after the reduction in the federal excise.

In an update at a press conference this morning, the deputy premier, Prue Car, said there were 34 petrol stations without any fuel type as of this morning, while 125 were out of diesel or premium diesel. That’s down slightly from yesterday when 39 service stations in NSW were without fuel of all types, and 142 were out of diesel.

On Tuesday last week, 61 stations were without fuel of any kind, while 247 stations were out of diesel. Last week, the premier, Chris Minns, attributed the drop to people waiting for the excise to kick in before filling up. The federal cut, as well as an additional reduction from states agreeing to forgo increased GST from fuel sales, kicked in last Wednesday and Thursday respectively.

As we reported earlier, major fuel companies have complied with a NSW government order, made under emergency powers, to provide information about their distribution of fuel.

Accused Pinochet agent turned Bondi nanny Adriana Rivas to be extradited to Chile

A former Sydney nanny and cleaner accused by Chile of being a torturer and kidnapper for Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship in the 1970s will be extradited to Chile to face court over kidnapping allegations after losing her seven-year battle to remain in Australia, AAP reports.

Adriana Elcira Rivas, now in her 70s, is accused of participating in the disappearances of seven people in 1976 – including a woman who was five months pregnant – while working for Pinochet’s secret police force.

Rivas emigrated to Australia in 1978 and worked as a nanny in Bondi before she was arrested by New South Wales police in 2019 at the request of the Chilean government.

She has been in custody for seven years as she resisted attempts to extradite her to the South American nation to face trial for seven counts of aggravated kidnapping.

She denies the allegations and has argued that her extradition to Chile should be blocked because it would result in her being tried for crimes against humanity.

Read more here:

Police rescue cyclist stranded in Victoria’s Snowy River for four hours

Victoria police rescued a cyclist stranded in the Snowy River for four hours last night.

Police said the experienced rider was cycling through the Suggan Buggan area when they began to cross the river around 8pm. The water level, however, had risen higher than they expected, and they became stranded with their bike halfway across the waterway.

The rider activated a satellite beacon and was rescued by an air wing crew. The 31-year-old was brought to safety just after midnight and taken to hospital for assessment, but they were uninjured.

Barnett added that “the situation in Afghanistan has only deteriorated over time”.

It’s only made our job more difficult. And we don’t see that changing in the immediate future.

‘A lot of practical challenges’ led to long investigation timeline

Ross Barnett, director of investigations at the Office of the Special Investigator, said there were many challenges which led to a long investigation timeline, noting the effort has been ongoing since 2021.

Barnett told reporters:

The challenge for investigators is that … we are 9,000km [away].

So the challenge for investigators is that because we can’t go to the country, we don’t have access to the crime scene. So we don’t have photographs, site plans, measurements, the recovery of projectiles – blood spatter analysis.

All of the things that we would normally get at a crime scene. There’s no postmortem. Therefore, there’s no official cause of death.

So there are a lot of practical challenges that confront the investigators who are doing all of these jobs.

AFP commissioner provides further details on Roberts-Smith arrest

The AFP are holding a press conference after the reported arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith.

AFP commissioner, Krissy Barrett, said a former soldier was arrested at Sydney’s domestic airport this morning and will face court in New South Wales later today. She went on:

It will be alleged the 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.

It will be alleged the victims were not taking part in hostilities at the time of their alleged murder in Afghanistan.

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

Bowen also said:

That’s a total of 241 service stations without diesel across Australia today. That’s 3% of our service stations …

So we have 39 days worth of petrol – that’s 1.7bn litres, 30 days worth of jet fuel – that’s 847m litres, and 29 days worth of diesel – that’s 2.7bn litres.

Bowen confirms decrease in service station fuel outages

Energy minister, Chris Bowen, provided an update on Australia’s fuel after the long weekend.

Bowen said:

Despite the fact that demand for petrol and diesel was 30% higher this Easter than last Easter, we continue to see, each day, the service station outages fall.

In New South Wales, we had 125 service stations without diesel – that’s 5% of service stations. That’s down 17 on yesterday, 34 with no fuel – that’s down 5 on yesterday.

Victoria – we have 40 without down 11. So, that’s 2% of Victorian service stations, 29 with no unleaded petrol.

In Queensland, 34 without diesel – that’s also 2% – And 30 without unleaded petrol.

South Australia – 7 with no diesel, 5 with no unleaded petrol.

Western Australia – 20 without diesel and 32 without unleaded petrol.

Tasmania – 7 without diesel, 6 with no unleaded petrol.

Northern Territory – 4 each – no diesel, no unleaded.

ACT – 4 with no diesel and 1 without unleaded petrol.

PM has ‘no intention of commenting’ on Ben Roberts-Smith arrest

Prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is now speaking to the media.

When first asked about the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith, Albanese said: “I have no intention of commenting on a matter that’s clearly before the courts.”

Asked for a second time about the arrest of Roberts-Smith, the prime minister said: “I have no intention of prejudicing a matter that clearly is a legal matter and that’s before the courts and any comment would do so.”

A reporter asked Albanese whether attorney-general, Michelle Rowland, was consulted on the laying of the charges and whether she consulted with the prime minister. Albanese said:

I’m not going to confirm anything to do with the legal matter. That is a matter that is very important that there not be political engagement in what is a matter that is now the subject of legal proceedings, so I don’t intend to comment.

Roberts-Smith, once lionised as Australia’s most decorated Afghanistan veteran, attempted to sue three newspapers over allegations he committed war crimes, murdered unarmed civilians and bullied his comrades.

In a long-running, expensive defamation trial, a judge finding to the civil standard of the ‘balance of probabilities’ that he committed four murders while serving in the Australian military.

Roberts-Smith appealed to the full bench of the federal court, but lost, and the high court refused to hear a further appeal.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, is also expected to address the media soon.

Krissy Barrett, the Australian federal police commissioner, and Ross Barnett, the Office of the Special Investigator’s director of investigations, will speak at a press conference later on Tuesday.

ASX adds $70bn in an hour and surpasses 9,000 points

Australian sharemarkets are rebounding, with the all ordinaries hitting 9,000 points and the ASX200 hitting 8,800 points each for the first time in nearly a month.

Markets had steadily fallen from 3 March to 23 March. The benchmark S&P/ASX200 index had slipped from 9,200 to 8,365 points over the period, returning to 8,579 by last Thursday.

It’s now leapt 2.6% higher this morning, briefly surpassing 8.80 points and now trading around 8,785 – adding nearly $70bn in value in an hour.

The big banks are all up close to 3%, as is major miner BHP, with Rio Tinto up 2.4%.

Markets are hoping ceasefire efforts will soon bring an end to Donald Trump’s war on Iran. Japan’s Nikkei is also rising, and overseas stock markets picked up overnight.

Yet hopes the war’s end will bring down oil prices are fading. The benchmark West Texas Intermediate price has mostly been above US$110 a barrel since last Thursday and is now US$113.

The prospect of persistent higher energy prices is supporting oil and gas giants Woodside and Fortescue, while weighing on tollroad operator Transurban, down 1.2%.

As we reported earlier, an 11-year-old boy was killed after a collision with a vehicle in Western Australia yesterday.

Police initially reported that the boy was riding an escooter during the fatal incident, but have since corrected their earlier release to say he was riding a push scooter.

Petrol prices could rise again as wholesale price stops falling

Petrol prices at the terminal have stopped falling after nearly two weeks of declines, suggesting prices at the service station will soon follow.

The wholesale price paid by fuel companies had been declining since 26 March and plummeted on 1 April after the government cut the fuel excise, giving companies room to cut the retail price paid by motorists.

The wholesale price of unleaded fell 40 cents over the fortnight, reflecting the excise cut and broader market conditions.

Today’s wholesale price is no lower than yesterday’s in most Australian capitals, for the first time in nearly two weeks. That suggests service stations will not be getting any more room to cut prices.

Take a look as the Artemis II astronauts reach a new milestone for humanity

The Artemis II astronauts have now travelled farther from Earth than any human, ever

Artemis II astronauts broke Apollo 13’s distance record at 1.57pm eastern time on Monday, hugging each other in the cramped capsule as they made history for being the first four humans to travel the farthest from Earth than anyone before them.

Before hitting the record, the quartet dimmed the lights in their capsule and positioned themselves by the windows in preparation to set the long-distance record as they fly by the moon without stopping – with plans to ultimately swing around for planet Earth.

“It is blowing my mind what you can see with the naked eye from the moon right now,” Canadian astronaut Jeremy Hansen radioed ahead of the flyby. “It is just unbelievable.”

He challenged “this generation and the next to make sure this record is not long-lived”.

Read more here:

Boy, 11, riding escooter dies after collision with car in Western Australia

An 11-year-old boy died yesterday after a fatal crash between an escooter and a sedan in Western Australia.

WA police said the boy was riding the escooter around 5pm before the collision with a blue station wagon in Mandurah. The child sustained critical injuries and was taken to an area hospital by ambulance crews, where he later died.

The driver of the vehicle is assisting police with their inquiries. No charges have been laid.

Specialist police unit to begin 24-hour operation amid uptick in theft in busy Melbourne retail precinct

A specialist public order police unit will start round-the-clock patrols in one of the nation’s busiest inner-city areas as part of a three-week blitz to curb thefts and antisocial behaviour, AAP reports.

Operation Embrace will ramp up policing on Chapel Street in Prahran, one of Melbourne’s busiest retail and nightlife strips, Victoria police said on Tuesday.

The blitz comes as the state grapples with rising crime rates, which prompted the Allan Labor government to tighten bail laws in 2025, with a focus on serious youth offenders.

The operation will include 24-hour patrols from the public order response team, police dogs, police on horseback and uniformed officers.

Trump lashes out at Australia, Japan and South Korea for not helping in Iran war

As we reported earlier, Donald Trump lashed out at Australia for what he said was a claimed lack of support during the war in Iran. Take a look:

Rohan Dennis accuses media of creating ‘false narrative’ after Melissa Hoskins’ death

Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis, the man given a 17-month suspended sentence after his car fatally struck his wife and fellow cyclist, Melissa Hoskins, accused the media of creating a “false narrative” about him “for clicks” in new comments posted to social media.

Dennis published a defence overnight after uploading a social media post last month describing a Porsche as an “absolute weapon”, which prompted renewed criticism after his court case.

Dennis took to Instagram, saying the media had run with a narrative that was “clear they wanted me to look like the husband who abused his wife”. He said journalists had met him at the airport less than a day after his wife’s funeral with distressing questions.

I simply want to tell not just my experience but my kids’ experience with the media. … Then there is the clear twisting of any words I use. They know I never intentionally or unintentionally used a vehicle as a weapon … Yet again they come after me for cheap clicks. Pathetic journalism.

He said it was time for “so-called journalists and media outlets to back off and leave my family alone”.

Dennis pleaded guilty to committing an aggravated act likely to cause harm, but was not held criminally responsible for his wife’s death.

Attorney general says government remains committed to gun buyback scheme

Rowland said the federal government would continue to press ahead with its gun buyback scheme, despite some resistance from state and territory leaders.

The New South Wales government is so far the only clear supporter for the gun reforms, with Queensland, South Australia and the Northern Territory all ruling out their support. The federal government recently said those localities are “standing in the way” of an effort to remove dangerous weapons from the streets.

Rowland maintained it is up for those leaders “to explain to their constituency why that is the case”.

But the fact remains that we will continue to prosecute this case through our national cabinet processes. The government’s committed to it.

She said it is supposed to be a “national” buyback scheme, and states and territories should recognise it won’t work without a national buy-in.

Attorney general says Australia should continue to call for de-escalation in Iran amid Trump critiques

The attorney general, Michelle Rowland, was asked about Trump’s remarks on RN Breakfast this morning.

She said Australia’s position remains calling for “an urgent de-escalation of this conflict”, adding:

Australians and innocent people right around the world and in the region are being impacted by events that they didn’t cause, but it is having lasting impacts. It’s having impacts on our supply chains and causing real anxiety for Australians.

Rowland said the best thing Australia could do would be to continue those calls, saying it’s not the first time Trump had made inflammatory remarks.

I think ultimately the United States will need to answer for itself.

Nick Visser here to grab the reins. Let’s get to it.