SPOTLIGHT – Heston Russell
Frontline – Ray Payne
I’m deeply concerned about how loosely the media has reported on allegations of war crimes, particularly when it comes to our Australian soldiers. Imagine a journalist relying on a source who openly admits their memory is hazy and they can’t provide specific details. Would anyone genuinely trust a story based on that? Yet, stories like this have been used to accuse our soldiers of serious crimes, including killing innocent civilians and breaking the rules of war.
It feels like some parts of the media, especially the ABC, have been racing to the bottom for clicks or industry awards, with little regard for the impact this has on the veteran community. Just this week, we learned from a Royal Commission that 2,007 current or former defence personnel took their own lives between 1985 and 2021. Many of our soldiers, after facing combat, have had to battle again when they return home—whether through a lack of support from the Defence Force, delays by Veterans Affairs, or the looming threat of losing their medals.
Meanwhile, some outlets seem to have declared their own war on our troops, with no one more involved than the ABC’s Mark Willacy. Over four years, he churned out nearly 40 negative stories about our soldiers, and even received a Gold Walkley after showing footage of an SAS soldier shooting an unarmed Afghan—a case still before the courts. But what’s truly alarming is how the ABC kept allowing these stories to air, even when the facts were shaky at best.
In one instance, Willacy’s source—a US Marine—warned him that his memory was hazy and he couldn’t remember specific details. He didn’t witness anything firsthand, but heard a sound on his helicopter radio and assumed it was a gunshot. That flimsy claim became a fresh war crime allegation. When Heston Russell rightly complained, the ABC not only refused to apologise but doubled down, wrongly linking him to a criminal investigation. Russell sued and won, with the court awarding him $400,000.
It’s frustrating that this kind of sloppy journalism, with no accountability from the ABC’s management, has real consequences for those who served. This is a prime example of why we need to be careful when accusing our ADF of horrific crimes. The public has seen through this kind of reporting, and many now stand with the few who risk everything to protect our freedom.
Yes Ray, “innocent civilians” often lose thier lives during a war. I would like to pose the question; “What is the difference between the decision by senior commanders to drop a nuclear bomb on the “civilian ” cities of Nagasaki and Hiroshima or the carpet bombing of German cities including Dresden during WW2 and an Australian soldier dipatching an Afgan “civilian”?
Channel 7 on Sunday night did an excellent report with Heston Russell on their Spotlight programme about the ABC, and how they falsified the evidence against Heston over the alleged killing of unarmed civillians in Afghanistan. The lengths that the ABC went to, to defame and discredit Heston was gobsmacking. They should hang their heads in shame, but we know they won’t. It is a show well worth watching.