{"id":594640,"date":"2026-04-09T01:57:20","date_gmt":"2026-04-09T01:57:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/594640\/"},"modified":"2026-04-09T01:57:20","modified_gmt":"2026-04-09T01:57:20","slug":"ben-roberts-smiths-australian-war-memorial-to-stay-despite-war-crimes-murder-charges","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/594640\/","title":{"rendered":"Ben Roberts-Smith\u2019s Australian War Memorial to stay despite war crimes, murder charges"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Senior historians and former leaders have accused the Australian War Memorial of undermining its commitment to historical truth in its refusal to remove or relocate its Ben Roberts-Smith display in the museum\u2019s Hall of Valour.<\/p>\n

In a move one prominent historian described as \u201cdisgraceful\u201d and \u201cludicrous\u201d, the memorial has said it will keep Roberts-Smith\u2019s uniform and equipment on display in its Hall of Valour indefinitely, following the former SAS corporal being charged with five counts of murder<\/a> over his actions in Afghanistan.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Australian War Memorial display of Ben Roberts-Smith\u2019s military uniform (left) taken last year. The display remains in place in the Hall of Valour.Dean Sewell<\/p>\n

In the Hall of Valour \u2013 which honours recipients of the highest award for bravery in wartime, the Victoria Cross \u2013 Roberts-Smith\u2019s military uniform and helmet remain on display, alongside that of another warrior.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a>, a spokeswoman confirmed the institution would only \u201creview the wording\u201d of an interpretive panel next to the display while monitoring developments and considering updates \u201cas appropriate\u201d.<\/p>\n

\"The\u00a0interpretiveThe\u00a0interpretive panel next to the Ben\u00a0Roberts-Smith\u00a0display at the Australian War Memorial on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

The panel \u2013 which has been updated several times as Roberts-Smith brought and then lost defamation proceedings against this masthead<\/a> \u2013 notes, now incorrectly, that Roberts-Smith \u201chas not been charged with any offence under criminal law\u201d.<\/p>\n

Michael McKernan, a senior lecturer in Australian history at the University of NSW and deputy director at the memorial in the 1990s, said Australia should no longer celebrate Roberts-Smith and that his uniform display should be taken from the Hall of Valour.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t leave it there \u2013 it\u2019s ludicrous. I mean, he is now charged with five murders; let\u2019s get real \u2013 that\u2019s not good,\u201d he said, calling for urgent action.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe has every right to be considered innocent until found guilty, but the full bench of the Federal Court of Australia upheld that, on the balance of civil probability, he is a war criminal.\u201d<\/p>\n

McKernan said when that decision came out, the memorial should have said: \u201c\u2018OK, we can find many other heroes from Afghanistan to celebrate.\u2019 It\u2019s a serious thing when a judge says something as direct as that. It is an utter disgrace, and the war memorial has lost its head over Ben Roberts-Smith.\u201d<\/p>\n

Peter Stanley, former principal historian at the memorial and a UNSW Canberra professor, warned the nation\u2019s commitment to honesty should impel the institution to acknowledge the actions of defence personnel, whatever they may be.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

He said the war memorial should move the Ben Roberts-Smith display into the Afghanistan gallery.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo we can see the consequences of Australia\u2019s involvement in the conflict,\u201d he said, adding that the associated interpretive panel needed to accurately describe what had unfolded relating to the soldier. \u201cJust tell the truth,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

University of Canberra historian Frank Bongiorno said the Australian War Memorial \u201cdeploys a very kind of nationalist framing \u2013 it is a kind of temple to Anzac really\u201d. He said there was a strong sense that the war memorial was \u201ca kind of repository of sacred national stories\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was particularly elevated under [former director] Brendan Nelson. It\u2019s not an ordinary museum in that sense; it\u2019s part-memorial, part-museum, and really a national shrine,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I think that that makes this kind of process, involving a previously venerated Victoria Cross winner, a far more difficult thing for the war memorial.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2018, Nelson said<\/a> the media\u2019s pursuit of Roberts-Smith was an attempt to \u201ctear down our heroes\u201d and that \u201cunless there have been the most egregious breaches of laws of armed conflict, we should leave it all alone\u201d.<\/p>\n

Nelson, who is now a senior vice-president at Boeing<\/a>, could not be reached for comment on Wednesday. Boeing is a corporate partner of the Australian War Memorial.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Nick<\/a><\/p>\n

Veterans\u2019 Affairs Minister Matt Keogh \u2013 whose portfolio includes oversight of the Australian War Memorial \u2013 said the museum\u2019s curators and governing council were responsible for display decisions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the job of the Australian War Memorial to tell the full story of war and conflict, including displays that may be controversial or provoke disagreement and debate,\u201d he said. \u201cThe government has no power over curatorial decisions, which are judgments appropriately made by the Australian War Memorial\u2019s curatorial staff overseen by the council.\u201d <\/p>\n

Roberts-Smith\u2019s medals at the war memorial also remain in an online display<\/a>, as do other commendations, which does not note any issues raised around his behaviour.<\/p>\n

The institution\u2019s treatment of Roberts-Smith\u2019s legacy has long been controversial; some of his biggest supporters previously ran the memorial. Western Australian businessman Kerry Stokes bankrolled Roberts-Smith\u2019s defamation case against this masthead<\/a> and also chaired the memorial from 2015 to 2022.<\/p>\n

Related Article\"Ben<\/a><\/p>\n

On Wednesday inside the memorial in Canberra, few visitors stopped to look at the Roberts-Smith display \u2013 but for those who did, there were two reactions. Those unaware of Tuesday\u2019s developments or of Roberts-Smith\u2019s history commented on the soldier\u2019s enormous stature \u2013 Roberts-Smith stands at almost two metres tall. One visitor turned to his friend and said: \u201cThat\u2019s a big boy.\u201d <\/p>\n

Some of those aware of developments quietly questioned why the display was still up. \u201cHe\u2019s just been arrested,\u201d a man said to his partner.<\/p>\n

When a visitor asked a guide why the display hadn\u2019t been altered, she offered what sounded like a well-rehearsed line. \u201cThe whole situation is under review,\u201d she said, informing the visitor that there had been a meeting about the display. \u201cIt\u2019s not like we can put a piece of paper or sticky tape on it.\u201d<\/p>\n

One guest\u2019s finger lingered over a passage on the adjacent plaque regarding the defamation case Roberts-Smith brought against this masthead. She took her time, explaining to friends the recent developments not caught by the plaque\u2019s final line stating Roberts-Smith had not been charged under criminal law.<\/p>\n

Downstairs in the Australian War Memorial\u2019s gift shop, in the \u201cRecent Conflicts\u201d section of the bookshop, several titles are on display. Among them, sitting in a corner on the top shelf, are Nick McKenzie\u2019s and Chris Masters\u2019 books on the soldier.<\/p>\n

Read more on Ben Roberts-Smith\u2019s arrest:Save<\/p>\n

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\"ClayClay Lucas<\/a> is an investigative reporter at The Age who has covered urban affairs, state and federal politics, industrial relations, health and aged care. Email him at clucas@theage.com.au or claylucas@protonmail.com, or via Signal +61439828128.Connect via X<\/a>, Facebook<\/a> or email<\/a>.\"NickNick Newling<\/a> is a federal politics reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.Connect via X<\/a> or email<\/a>.From our partners<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Save You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":594641,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[64,63,44],"class_list":{"0":"post-594640","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-australia","8":"tag-au","9":"tag-australia","10":"tag-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=594640"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/594640\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/594641"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=594640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=594640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=594640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}