Facing life in prison, Ben Roberts-Smith says he hopes to see his teenage daughters become adults
Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith says his greatest fear is not watching his daughters grow into women, as he faces the prospect of life behind bars. See his candid, five-hour long talk here.
In a tacit acknowledgement he faces a long prison sentence, Victoria Cross awardee Ben Roberts-Smith said his greatest fear is being unable to share in his twin daughters’ lives as they grow from teenagers into women.
The former Special Air Service Regiment corporal, who faces five charges of the war crime of murder, was asked by a military-themed podcast posted online today what he was most afraid of.
“I’ve had plenty of time to think about that in the last few years and I think that would just be a travesty because my mission now is to see those girls out of high school into whatever further education they want if that’s what they choose,” he told Matthew Morris, who hosts the Zero Limits podcast.
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By continuing you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy.“Into whatever sport they want to do. Into whatever job or occupation or relationship and see them blossom into women and live great lives like that. That’s all I want to do because as we have talked about relentlessly, I lived my dream. Now I want to help them live theirs.”
The five-and-a-half-hour interview, which did not discuss the charges against Mr Roberts-Smith, was the latest step in a campaign by Mr Roberts-Smith and his advisers to win over Australians to his cause.
In a previous interview, Mr Roberts-Smith expressed anger that he was arrested in front of his daughters and partner Sarah Matulin on a flight that had just landed in Sydney. Based in Brisbane, the couple were taking his twins to a TikTok-themed shop in the city on April 7.
“I can’t believe you’ve done this with the kids here,” he said he told Australian Federal Police officers after they escorted him from the Qantas jet.
Mr Roberts-Smith and the children’s mother, Emma Roberts, divorced in 2020. She testified against him in a defamation lawsuit in the Federal Court in 2022.
New supporters
Mr Roberts-Smith met Ms Matulin when they worked in Brisbane for the Seven television network, which is part of the same company as The Nightly. He resigned from Seven in 2023 and now runs an online clothing store, which opened on October 18, while defending himself against allegations he executed prisoners he has said could take five to seven years to resolve.
“Everyone knows everything about me,” he said on today’s podcast. “I’ve had so much mud thrown at me there is not much left to hide.”
Banned by a judge from communicating with other SAS veterans from the war, Mr Roberts-Smith recorded the podcast with two close supporters, Scott Jones and Chris Katelaris.
A former member of the commando regiment, Mr Jones, recently posed for a photo outside Sydney’s Silverwater jail with one of the t-shirts sold by Mr Roberts-Smith printed with an image of him being led away by AFP officers. Mr Roberts-Smith, whose father Len Roberts-Smith was a judge in Western Australia, was held at the jail for 10 days.
Two months ago Katelaris, an online commentator who calls himself “Big Chocky”, demanded an apology from Liberal MP Andrew Hastie after the former SAS officer responded to an aggressive video Katelaris posted on social media about Mr Hastie.
Mr Hastie, who has acknowledged he shared information about Mr Roberts-Smith with the media, wrote, according to Katelaris: “Until you’ve taken an oath of enlistment, and put your body on the line for our country, then I might start taking you seriously. Little Chocolate, don’t melt under the heat.”
Mr Hastie did not respond when asked to confirm the comment.
Hekmatullah
Katelaris and Mr Roberts-Smith this week cited an Afghan soldier named Hekmatullah who killed three Australian soldiers in 2012. Sentenced to death by the last Afghan government, Hekmatullah was freed when the Taliban won the war in 2021.
Both men asserted the Australian Government stopped the death sentence being carried out.
“DFAT intervened because Australia doesn’t condone the death penalty,” Mr Roberts-Smith said on today’s podcast. “He was not sentenced to death and he was subsequently released and is now living like a king as a bona fide Taliban hero. It doesn’t sit well.”
Hekmatullah, who has only one name, could become an important part of the war crimes trial. Mr Roberts-Smith’s team was searching for him when Mr Roberts-Smith kicked an Afghan man, Ali Jan, off a cliff and ordered him shot in 2012, according to prosecutors. Mr Roberts-Smith denies the charge.
Hugh Poate, whose son Robert Poate was one of the Australians murdered by Hekmatullah, said he was rebuffed by the last Coalition government and Australia’s ambassador to Afghanistan when he sought an assurance the death sentence would be carried out.
“The message that sends is you can’t expect the Australian government to be on your side when your sons or daughters are killed, and in this case murdered by enemy combatants,” he said today.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Then Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne protested when Hekmatullah was released under an agreement between the Taliban and the US Trump Administration in 2020. But she also said he “should serve a full custodial sentence” and did not support his execution.
Last week’s interview given by Mr Roberts-Smith to Sydney radio host Ben Fordham has been watched 500,000 times on YouTube. The morning it went live, a police officer arrived at Mr Roberts-Smith’s home to check he was abiding by his bail conditions to live at the property, Fordham said on radio today.
Prosecutors have said they will seek the maximum penalty for the war hero, which is five life sentences.
