What we learned today, Tuesday 7 April
We’re going to close the blog now, thanks for joining us.
Here are today’s top headlines:
Australia’s most decorated living soldier, Ben Roberts-Smith, has been arrested at Sydney airport in relation to alleged war crimes.
A former Sydney nanny and cleaner accused by Chile of being a torturer and kidnapper for Augusto Pinochet’s military dictatorship in the 1970s will be extradited to Chile to face court over kidnapping allegations after losing her seven-year battle to remain in Australia.
New South Wales has become the latest state to offer a nasal spray flu vaccine to children for free, following Queensland, South Australia and Western Australia.
The Olympic cyclist Rohan Dennis has lashed out at journalists on social media, saying they created a “false narrative” about him after his wife’s 2023 death.
See you tomorrow morning for another day of breaking news.
Updated
RSL Australia says it ‘will not allow the alleged conduct of individuals to define the service of the many’
The Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL) says “confidence and belief in the judicial system remain as important as ever” after today’s arrest of Afghanistan war veteran Ben Roberts-Smith.
In a statement, RSL Australia said it “strongly supports the Australian judicial system and has confidence that it will thoroughly and fairly deal with the allegations of unlawful killings by Australian Special Forces soldiers in Afghanistan”.
The RSL Australia national president, Peter Tinley, said:
As the current case goes before the courts, it must be allowed to run its course without interference.
Without doubt, the overwhelming majority of Australians who served in Afghanistan did so with honour, bravery and at significant personal cost. RSL Australia will not and Australia should not, allow the alleged conduct of individuals to define the service of the many.
Regardless of the legal proceedings, RSL Australia’s primary responsibility is to the veteran community, and we are here to support all those who may be impacted …
The RSL is deeply concerned that the process has taken too long, and has delayed resolution for the accused, for Afghan families who were promised accountability, and for the wider veteran community whose service has been framed by unresolved allegations.
Updated
