Roberts-Smith case reminds us we need to be a force for good

Roberts-Smith was lauded for his courage and determined leadership but has now, justifiably, been condemned for going too far.

As Barrie says, Roberts-Smith did not "obey the rules of armed conflict".

But there is a greater good, which too many people seem unable to live up to.

Governments, autocratic or democratic, use warfare in conflict with other governments and send people, like Ben Roberts-Smith, to literally fight and kill for peace.

For the greater good, logic says only peace is good. As the Roberts-Smith story shows, violence - whatever the good intentions - always corrupts the morals of the perpetrator whether the intent be good or ill.

I am proud to have made the decision aged 18 to conscientiously object to what was then compulsory National Service training. District Court Judge Steven ordered I must only go to a medical corps "where you would be saving lives", not to a combatant corps "where you would be taking lives".

That was in 1959. Like Admiral Barrie, I have tried to be and want to continue to be "a force for good".

It was recently reported the US military had warned Australia's defence chief allegations of war crimes in Afghanistan "may affect future cooperation with the SAS and Special Operations Command".

What hypocrisy. Can you believe such a statement?

I am tempted to mention, Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Cambodia, Laos, Yemen, half of South America, support for all Israel's crimes against Palestine since 1967 Guantanamo Bay and Abu Ghraib.

I could go on but there are too many examples to list.

When I heard the court ruling on Ben Roberts-Smith, I felt ill despite relief that investigative journalism had won the day.

I felt ill because I thought Ben Roberts-Smith's actions reflected badly on those serving, or who had served, in our armed forces, not least my grandson based in Darwin, or my late father who was a chaplain in the RAAF in World War II in Papua New Guinea.

And so the comments of former Defence Chief, Admiral Chris Barrie, were very welcome (Ex-Chief of the Defence Force Chris Barrie says Ben Roberts-Smith ruling a 'good day' for Australian Defence Force, CT, 3 June).

He said "what it shows is that it is important that we ... obey the rules of armed conflict. We want to be the kind of force that trades on that - be a force for good".

Much as we may hate war, the Russian invasion of Ukraine has demonstrated only too well that we do need to have defence forces. And if we are to engage in war, hopefully only in the defence of our country, we must obey the rules of war.

Nick McKenzie commended the SAS soldiers who spoke to Chris Masters and himself. Yes, bravo to those men who demonstrated real courage. How hard it must have been to stand up against a national hero. They are the heroes now, along with Masters and McKenzie.

It is time to cut free from the obsessive glorification of war and war history that too many political, military, and related institutional masters have promulgated and relished ("Memorial call suggests a moral conflict", June 3).

Generations have been force-fed myths, hoopla and lop-sided exhibits of military hardware and pedestal-creating "stories" by a powerful few, to uphold other national, political and business agendas.

Meanwhile engagements are shrouded in secrecy, including a period on our own territory that spanned more than 100 years.

No wonder a former combatant was easily able to hit the lucrative celebrity speaker circuit and be feted by the rich and powerful while covering up concerned mutterings, including in his own former workplace, about his leadership deficiencies and misconduct.

A far greater focus on truth-telling about the realities and impacts of our military and related involvements undertaken at home and abroad, is well overdue.

Hopefully, the changed SAS "story" and explanations about how medals and lies don't mix, will be speedily and candidly captioned and better illustrated by the AWM now.

The AWM also has the opportunity to give more credit and recognition to those who stuck to the truth about unlawful atrocities in Afghanistan.

I'd have thought the AWM would have had plenty of time to plan its reaction in the event of Ben Roberts-Smith's defamation claim failing.

An appropriate response would have been, and probably still is, to simply drape the exhibit and portrait and provide a notice that they have been removed from public view pending any further legal proceedings.

This would enable the AWM to acknowledge the seriousness of the defamation findings and at the same time allow for the possible outcome of any appeal, should one proceed.

Thus the AWM would retain its dignity while showing respect for our legal system.

I am not a Catholic and nor have I attended to patients at a Catholic public hospital for an extended period of time.

Notwithstanding my limited first-hand experience, it has always been obvious to me that these hospitals, including Calvary here in Canberra, possess a gentle, caring ambience which some other public hospitals can only aspire to emulate.

Whatever the ACT government's plans are for the future of the hospital, let us hope that there is at least some accommodation for the values and ethos that have been so characteristic of this hospital for so long.

In his article on the Calvary takeover ("Appalling action for questionable outcome", June 4, p.38), Andrew Podger refers to the Australian Policy Handbook, its co-author being Professor Glyn Davis, now secretary of PM and C.

Podger decries the shoddy process adopted by the ACT government, destined to produce considerable resistance, as it ignores the very sensible democratic and consultative principles in the above handbook.

Why does the ACT government continue to get things so wrong? Wise advice is close to hand.

The report indicating there is an increase in smoking and vaping rates amongst young Australians is most worrying for the future health of the nation.

The successful campaign to market e-cigarettes and maintain they are nicotine-free (what a joke) is the main culprit. Youngsters try vapes, become addicted to nicotine and the tobacco industry have a field day.

The recent government legislation should assist but it is too little, too late.

Archbishop Christopher Prowse has said the ACT government's decision to cease using Calvary to deliver public hospital services is about "a subtle agenda of control".

Never have the words spoken of another been more true of the speaker.

Calvary does indeed want to continue to control how it delivers publicly funded hospital services and it wants to continue to exert that control primarily through relationships.

The return of public hospital services to the elected government is indeed about wresting control from an unelected, faith-driven provider who refuses to provide all the services the people of Canberra require.

This is not about standards of care nor about the practice of professionals: it is about publicly funded services meeting all the clinical needs of the ACT's citizens.

Readers of the article "Call to protect Mt Ainslie Volcanics site" (June 3, p12) may be curious about what is known to geologists as the Mount Ainslie Volcanics. From some angles, Mount Ainslie does resemble the rounded remains of an eroded volcano, but the reality is much more complex.

Mt Ainslie is the remains of a thick pile of lava and other volcanic deposits deformed by tectonic processes into a syncline or rounded trough.

The original eroded volcano, which was formed 427.7 million years ago in the Silurian period, was composed of rocks similar to those found in the circum-Pacific volcanic "ring of fire". These included andesites, named for the Andes mountains, which are dominated by volcanoes, many of which are active.

The PwC fiasco is what happens when governments sub-contract work to the private sector. Reducing APS numbers does not mean the work is more effectively outsourced. The APS has been decimated. All power to the minister in her quest to restore the APS to a better (and more useful) position.

The one unacceptable aspect of traffic infringements is that the fines unnecessarily discriminate against people on low incomes. Penalties should be a percentage of the offender's income. But that won't happen given greed of the Barr government.

It was disingenuous of Senator Henderson to call out the secretary of the Infrastructure Department, Jim Betts, for not wearing a tie at a recent Senate estimates hearing. Senator Henderson wasn't wearing a tie either. This smacks of sexual stereotyping.

It seems to me that the ACT government doesn't want anyone to visit Civic in a car.

I suggest that in order to roll our "in too long" ACT government, Elizabeth Lee should emulate Kate Carnell or Gary Humphries rather than anybody from the Dutton LNP federal opposition.

It is always underpayment, never overpayment. If it was a genuine mistake then you would think a lot mis-payment cases would be overpayment. That never seems to happen.

I would have thought that Eric Abetz, always complaining about the ABC's alleged lack of balance, would be grateful that the hours of saccharine coronation commentary was balanced (albeit only partially) by some countervailing views.

Australia has felt different and better since we overcame our homophobia. It will feel different and better again when more of us overcome our "colourphobia".

Lowering the speed limit in the city has reduced car accidents dramatically the government says. Why don't we make the speed limit 0kmh then?

Memo to Ben Roberts-Smith VC. You can kill the enemy, you cannot murder them.

When is this government going to face reality and address the root cause of the housing crisis? The immigration levels are clearly unsustainable.

Kathleen Folbigg may be free but justice delayed is still justice denied.