<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Australia's richest person has questioned the value of the investigation into accused war criminal Ben Roberts-Smith after the SAS veteran was </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/ben-roberts-smith-arrested-suspicion-of-war-crimes/eecd47fa-2781-4337-b032-1c4982c3c91b" rel="" target="_blank" title="arrested and charged yesterday"><span>arrested and charged yesterday</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I don't understand how it can be justified to spend more than $300 million to try for years to bring SAS veterans, who have served our country, towards criminal proceedings, and most recently the arrest of Ben," mining mogul </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/gina-rinehart" rel="" target="_blank" title="Gina Rinehart"><span>Gina Rinehart</span></a><span> said in a statement.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Roberts-Smith, Australia's most decorated soldier and a veteran of deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan, was yesterday arrested at Sydney Domestic Airport and charged with five counts of murder - war crime.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>LIVE UPDATES:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/us-israel-iran-war-live-updates-april-8-donald-trump-latest-world-news-headlines-australian-fuel-price-and-supply/7129929f-2032-47c5-afed-d097de3d97d2" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>'A whole civilisation will die tonight': Trump threatens annihilation</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The alleged murders took place between 2009 and 2012 in Afghanistan.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Roberts-Smith has consistently denied any wrongdoing.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Have we lost sight of the fact that in our inadequately defended country, facing uncertain times, the morale of our defence force has already been brought to its lowest ebb since inception, our defence personnel numbers are inadequate, and recruitment is suffering," Rinehart said in her statement.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/national/ben-roberts-smith-charged-alleged-war-crime-murder-gina-rinehart-speaks-out/4dd62981-7fc1-41e2-9422-b661a3303040" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/wireless-festival-in-london-cancelled-after-uk-bars-rapper-kanye-west-over-antisemitic-remarks/136ba16e-ec2c-4444-bf94-c6315484d661" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Festival cancelled after UK bars Kanye over antisemitic remarks</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Surely, the more than $300 million of taxpayers' money would have been far better spent strengthening Australia's security and keeping Australians safe from terrorism, including removing terrorists and their supporters from our country.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Like many Australians, I hope that compassion and the Aussie spirit is extended to Ben and his family and his duty to our country in the hardship of war is never forgotten."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Rinehart joins </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/pauline-hanson-pauline-hanson-tony-abbott-emerge-in-support-of-ben-robertssmith-follow--arrest/b860c601-67bb-43e0-93dc-fe2535355e04" rel="" target="_blank" title="One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and former prime minister Tony Abbott"><span>One Nation leader Pauline Hanson and former prime minister Tony Abbott</span></a><span> in speaking out in support of Roberts-Smith.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/fuel-crisis-experts-send-dire-warning-as-anthony-albanese-travels-to-singapore-to-lock-in-supplies/29c41546-eb81-46f0-b379-e16a9473fef1" rel="" target="_blank" title=""><strong><span>Experts send dire fuel crisis warning</span></strong></a><strong><span></span></strong></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"I remain steadfast in my support of Ben Roberts-Smith despite news of his arrest today," Hanson said yesterday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Ben, his immediate and broader defence family need the Australian people's support right now and I will not abandon him like so many other politicians.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"Ben was disgracefully arrested in front of his twin 15-year-old girls."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>She said Australian Federal Police and the Office of the Special Investigator had "spent $300 million over 10 years to get to this point".</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The investigation into Roberts-Smith was opened in 2021, AFP Commissioner Krissy Barrett said yesterday.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Abbott said he had an "instinctive sympathy" for Roberts-Smith and queried why charges were not brought earlier.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"If Ben Roberts-Smith transgressed, why wasn't this picked up prior to his gallantry awards and why wasn't any culture of brutality towards prisoners detected by his more senior officers, and dealt with quickly, rather than being allowed to fester, as has been alleged, for over a decade?" he said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>OSI director of investigations Ross Barnett yesterday elaborated on the length of the investigation, pointing out that there was no access to crime scenes 9000km away, nor even an autopsy of the alleged victims.</span></div></div><div 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