Ben Roberts-Smith’s arrest is a key point in our history

At the 1945 Nuremberg trials of war criminals it was held that a plea of obedience to orders is no defence to murder of unarmed civilians or soldiers. If Ben Roberts-Smith is to be prosecuted for allegedly ordering soldiers to kill unarmed persons, soldiers who reportedly obeyed that order should be charged as well. Peter Hughes, Macquarie Fields

Your correspondent (Letters, April 8) writes that Ben Roberts-Smith has a right to “trial by his peers, the jury”. In a matter like this I query whether a civilian jury is indeed a jury of his peers. Roz Millar, Moss Vale

Time for justice

Nick McKenzie writes of the arrest of Ben Roberts-Smith, “For many Australians, especially those who have served their country, it will be deeply uncomfortable news” (“Dramatic arrest of VC recipient proves nobody is above the law”, April 8). I would take issue with that statement. For most of us who have served our country in uniform, this arrest is welcome news. For most of us, committed to the dirty business of boosting a politician’s standing among his/her peers, the maintenance of decent standards was and is an important matter. Without this commitment, we would lose our humanity, never to get it back. We support the presumption of innocence without there being conviction, but this dirty matter has been in abeyance for far too long. Justice now. Ian Usman Lewis, Armidale

Why doesn’t Gina Rinehart understand? It is one thing for her to support Roberts-Smith, even if he is found guilty of one or more murders, but it is another thing for her to attack the process of holding him to account for murders of which other SAS have given clear and verifiable accounts. She should let the courts do their job. Paul Fergus, Croydon

Important decision

Your editorial (“Mother, seven children still wait for justice”, April 8) sidesteps some critical points. In rejecting the final appeal plea, the High Court sat as a full court with seven justices, which is highly unusual. The matter was clearly important but so was their decision; no prospects of success on the civil case of defamation. The war crime charges are criminal offences and Roberts-Smith is entitled to a jury trial where the rules of evidence will be strictly adhered to by the presiding judge. One outcome does not, ipso facto, lead to the same outcome the second time around. Michael Blissenden, Dural

Uphold the rule

Pauline Hanson and Tony Abbott have taken issue with the arrest of their poster boy soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, now charged with war crimes (“Roberts-Smith facing life term if convicted in war crimes trial”, April 8). Fortunately, we are not in the United States, where the antediluvian Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, has overturned convictions of American soldiers for war crimes, and halted prosecutions against others. Hanson affirmed that she will continue to support Smith, regardless of the criminal charges against him. Clearly the burqa she wore in the Senate was sufficient in restricting her purview. On the other hand, Abbott myopically blames Smith’s senior offices for not detecting and stopping a culture of brutality taking hold – demonstrating a complete lack of understanding for how such crimes are perpetrated and concealed within small units of soldiers. Perhaps it would be wiser to take a more circumspect approach and allow the court to do its work? Ultimately, Australia either upholds the rules of war or it does not. Acts of heroism should not grant soldiers the right to kill non-combatants or captured soldiers. If murder charges against Roberts-Smith are upheld, then jail is an appropriate consequence. Salvatore Sorbello, Campsie

Limits on power

Geraldine Brooks (“Trump’s exceeded my worst expectations”, April 8) hopes that somewhere in the murk that is American politics there are operatives who can stop or at least moderate the insane, perhaps murderous, actions of Donald Trump. He is an out-of-control narcissistic despot who has taken control of government and legislative agencies by embedding family members and toadying friends in the most powerful positions. He sacks those who limit his excesses. Neither his Republican Party nor the opposition Democrats appear to have the will to oppose Trump’s decisions, and cannot find means under their Constitution to do so. At least in Australia we have a political system with checks and balances that, while not perfect, limit what our governing party can commit us to. Whether we retain a monarchist head of state or one day become a republic with a president, let us hope those limits stay. Brian O’Donnell, Burradoo

Real reform needed, not caution

I’m probably quite like Ross Gittins (“I’m back, unlike the Liberal Party”, April 8) – older, progressive, comfortably situated within that 15-kilometre inner-city band – so the outlook is fine. What cost-of-living crisis? But this is a privileged view and I think it falls down with his suggested educated/uneducated divide. It’s really a rich/poor divide and, as always, the real problem comes back to inequality. Labor’s attempt to secure the “middle ground” and become the “natural party of government” is equally complacent. The world won’t play ball. Change is happening, faster and faster these days. More reform, less caution is needed. Phil Bradshaw, Naremburn

Ross Gittins says well-educated voters are too smart to believe One Nation, and they have the numbers not to fall for it, but the way One Nation’s popularity is increasing, you’d think well-educated numbers are either diminishing or they seem to have second thoughts about non-white immigration or possibly both. The Australian demographic has a Trump-style issue – we want immigration that everyone knows is necessary to run the economy, but there is a veneer that the cause of all problems is immigration. This, of course, is false, but when you repeat the same lines over and over again, people start believing it. Mukul Desai, Hunters Hill

Ross Gittins is back, let joy be unconfinedOscar Colman

Welcome back, dear Ross, you nailed it today and you sparked a vision in my mind. I saw a highway down which Australia must travel to get where we need to go. There was an ambulance with the Greens, sirens blaring, speeding dangerously, driver screaming out the window that there are no brakes, overtaking a bus labelled Labor driving at the speed limit in the middle lane, all wearing seatbelts with the radio on and windows closed. A truck labelled One Nation was stopped in a rest area, refusing to move until the toilets were fixed and the signposts painted white. I pulled off the highway into a by-passed town, and found the Coalition in a cafe arguing about which end of their boiled eggs to open. And I saw a sign pointing to Farrer. Chris Moon, Katoomba

Ross Gittins, having been to hell and back, will likely have no patience with the inconsequential and the irrelevant, and writes the unvarnished truth. Long may he live and write. Jennifer Briggs, Kilaben Bay

As Ross Gittins notes, Labor’s recent successes have come as a result of regaining the “sensible centre”, orchestrated by Anthony Albanese who has resisted major change, until now, to cement Labor as the “natural” party of government. However, we have reached the point where meaningful reform is required, despite the howls of protest from One Nation, whose only policies appear to be those of dissatisfaction and protest offering no solutions. Albo has shown a sensible, effective response to the bizarre rantings of Donald Trump, now is the time for a sensible, effective response to overdue reform. Max Redmayne, Drummoyne

I am a Ross Gittins fan because his explanations about economic decisions make sense to me. Two things will ensure his recovery. The wonderful medical services with nurses and doctors who work tirelessly for all of us, and his personal approach to life. He grew up in Newcastle, where the people are strong and determined. As a Newcastle Boys High student he was admired by all, especially the Newcastle Girls High students. Bea Hodgson, Gerringong

Driven to distraction

If the residents around the new Eastern Creek Quarter shopping centre think traffic conditions are bad now (“Parking furore at new $150m shopping centre”, April 8), wait until the sales start. This centre is very similar to the DFO outlet at Homebush, next to a residential area, near a busy intersection located close to major attractions. On sales days, traffic conditions are so bad that residents need to avoid using their own vehicles, police need to direct traffic and shoppers constantly park across residents’ driveways. The management of DFO tells residents that anything that happens beyond the boundaries of the centre is not its problem. It’s time the NSW planning laws are changed so that developments are made to pay for the infrastructure needed to support them. Todd Hillsley, Homebush

Wealth creation mission

Artemis II: come for the wonder, stay for the benefitsAP

The Apollo space missions gave us many technological advances that have permeated our civilisation for all of us (“This Moon trip eclipses bigger problems back on Earth”, April 8). Remember that, next time you use wi-fi. The potential benefits to humanity of going into space are enormous, as written about in Jerry Pournelle’s book A Step Farther Out in 1979. Well-off people in richer countries are wealthy beyond the dreams of the nobility of societies before the industrial revolution that began 250 years ago. The vast resources in energy, minerals and metals available in space have the potential to make a similar but larger leap in our collective wealth. Alan Stanley, Upper Corindi

On the wrong track

Intercity trains over-fill from Gosford to Hornsby (Letters, April 8). Two tracks become four at Hornsby, giving passengers a choice of North Shore and Northern Line trains. The Prime Minister does not want any stops on his high-speed-rail line between Gosford and the Sydney CBD, yet it is Hornsby and Epping that have important rail interchanges for serving northern Sydney. Gosford-Hornsby is the most congested section of the Newcastle line. Most value from the high-speed line is created by building this section first and having stations at both. The demand for passenger and freight rail on regional and interstate corridors is high. The Minerals Council wants a railway from Townsville to Darwin, Broome and Perth. Converting narrow and broad gauge track to standard gauge would greatly expand travel and freight opportunities, and provide volume for the local manufacture of trains. Much needs to change about how we decide what access infrastructure we build. Peter Egan, Adelaide (SA)

Songs of praise

Pat Manser’s note (Letters, April 8) reminded me of my short but pleasant career in a university choir, and Kingsley Amis’s “Lucky Jim”. Thank you. Norman Carter, Roseville Chase

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