War Crimes and the Cost of Blind Loyalty

The arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith on five counts of alleged war crimes has reignited a fierce debate in Australian politics over military accountability, the rule of law and the legacy of the Afghanistan war. We look at the political, legal and cultural fallout, as reactions from Pauline Hanson, Gina Rinehart and Kerry Stokes expose deep divisions in how Australia understands war, justice and national identity. With millions spent on his defence and a media narrative shaped by nationalism and the Anzac legend, we examine whether the country is willing to confront allegations of civilian murders, the case of whistleblower David McBride and the broader questions around transparency, accountability and whether exposing wrongdoing is being punished more harshly than the alleged crimes themselves. Support New Politics: Patreon: Substack: Song listing: ‘War’, Frankie Goes To Hollywood. ‘La Femme d’Argent’, AIR.

You can listen to War Crimes and the Cost of Blind Loyalty online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

War Crimes and the Cost of Blind Loyalty is an episode from New Politics: Australian Politics by New Politics.

This episode is 13:43 long.

This episode was published on Apr 10, 2026.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from New Politics: Australian Politics when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.