Australian War Memorial Defends Inviting Accused War Criminal Ben Roberts-Smith to Event

Australian War Memorial director Matt Anderson has said it is "standard practice" for Victoria Cross recipients to be invited to major commemorative events.

Mr Anderson was asked today about an invitation issued to Ben Roberts-Smith, who is being prosecuted over alleged war crimes, for the upcoming opening of a new gallery space at the Canberra institution.

"It's important to note that over the last 125 years, two million women and men have worn our nation's uniform," Mr Anderson said.

"102 have been awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery.

"Beyond that, I'm not prepared to say I'll do anything that would undermine presumption of innocence or a chance for fair trial."

Mr Roberts-Smith, a former Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) soldier, faces five counts of the war crime murder, which relate to deployments in Afghanistan in the years 2009 and 2012 and involve what investigators allege were unarmed Afghan nationals.

He has categorically rejected the allegations and said he planned to fight to clear his name in court.

On Tuesday, it was revealed his bail conditions had been varied so he could attend the event in Canberra next week.

Speaking to media about the new gallery space, dedicated to the 20 years Australia spent in Afghanistan during the conflict, Mr Anderson said it was his job to "speak to the causes, the conduct and the consequences of war".

He said credible evidence was uncovered during the inquiry, involving "25 people out of 40,000 who served in the Middle East area of operations".

"As [former US] president John Adams famously said, 'facts are stubborn things'. There was an IGADF Afghanistan inquiry report. It's in the galleries. We acknowledge that, but then we put it into the context of that longest war," he said.

Conflict aided gender equality, researcher says

The exhibition is titled 'Was It Worth It?' and addresses the conflicting views about Australia's purpose and impact in Afghanistan over those two decades.

According to Mr Anderson, the title was inspired by the soldiers who served there.

"That's the question they were asking of themselves when they were there," he said.

Researcher Farkhondeh Akbari, who was a cultural advisor for the war memorial as it developed the new space, agrees that it is a hard question to answer, but she has managed to find one for herself.

"Because we see a rise in statistics on gender equality, on women's access to healthcare, especially in clinics and schools that Australian troops were involved in, in the Oruzgan province ... one of the more isolated parts of the country."

Dr Akbari fled Afghanistan as a child with her family in the 1990s and they eventually settled in Australia.

She is now a research fellow at the Centre of Excellence for The Elimination of Violence Against Women at Monash University and has returned to her birthplace multiple times as part of her work.

For her, the real question is what comes next, as Afghanistan remains under Taliban rule since the departure of the US and its allies.

"In 2021, Australia was one of the first embassies that closed in Kabul. I know, I was there," she said.

She said it showed what needed to be done in addition to military intervention, if lasting positive change was the goal.

'Took my breath away'

The new gallery at the War Memorial contains exhibition items that are more traditional to the memorial — a bushmaster military vehicle is included, providing insight into the kinds of machinery Australians were using and the conditions they were in.

There are also handkerchiefs that were partly embroidered by Australians, who then sent them to Afghan artists to complete.

Artworks by Australian painter Ben Quilty are on the walls, depicting veterans in a raw and visceral manner.

And a labrador named Sarbi who served in explosive detection also features, preserved in taxidermy to honour her story.

Sarbi vanished during a Taliban ambush in 2008 and was 13 months later "miraculously reunited with her handler", the memorial said.

The dog had survived alone and was discovered by an American soldier.

Warrant Officer Class One Damien Woolfe, an Army veteran who served in Afghanistan, said he was struck by how true to life the new exhibition space was.

"It clearly brings back memories, it makes me think about the people that I served with, the sacrifices that were made by the people that we lost and by the families at home and the ongoing injuries.

"But I think it was the level of detail — it's exactly what sites look like in Afghanistan, it could take you straight back there."

A former explosive ordnance disposal technician, he said his experience in the conflict had been "stressful" and the mental health effects were challenging.

"It's an experience I don't think you can adequately describe to someone else."

Asked about the inclusion of Mr Roberts-Smith on the list of invitees to next week's opening, he said the goal of the exhibition was to tell "the entire story".

"I think the important thing is to focus on the opening of the exhibition itself," he said.

"It tries to tell our military history in its complete nature to the Australian public and allow them to come and experience and hopefully learn a bit more about what was done in Afghanistan."