Australian War Veteran Andrew Hastie Escalates Feud With Pauline Hanson Over Ben Roberts-Smith Testimony
A senior Liberal politician and former special forces officer is waging open war against Australia's far-right One Nation party, accusing leader Pauline Hans...
A senior Liberal politician and former special forces officer is waging open war against Australia's far-right One Nation party, accusing leader Pauline Hanson of orchestrating an online smear campaign after he testified against an accused war criminal.
Andrew Hastie, MP for Canning and a frontrunner to lead the Coalition's home affairs agenda, has branded Hanson and her colleagues "lying cowards" for depicting him as a traitor in a satirical cartoon. The dispute centers on Hastie's 2022 Federal Court testimony in Ben Roberts-Smith's failed defamation case against Australian media outlets.
The Roberts-Smith Factor
Roberts-Smith, a decorated special forces soldier, now faces war crimes allegations for allegedly murdering unarmed civilians and detainees in Afghanistan between 2006 and 2012. Hanson has emerged as his most vocal political defender, making his cause a rallying point for her populist movement.
During the defamation trial, Hastie recounted that it was "fairly well-established" among military ranks that Roberts-Smith had forcibly removed a detainee off a cliff. He also characterized the soldier as a bully within the unit. That testimony, delivered under subpoena and consistent with legal obligations, has now become a lightning rod.
Cartoon Controversy and Escalation
One Nation released a video cartoon attacking Hastie for his courtroom statements, calling him a traitor eight times. The former SAS captain responded with a lawyer's letter threatening legal action against Hanson and chief strategist James Ashby.
"When you start calling me a traitor to my own country, then we have a big, big problem," Hastie said this week.
Hanson has since pushed back, claiming the cartoon was satirical and that she never personally leveled the traitor accusation. "It is a satirical cartoon for Christ's sake," she told media outlets.
Security and Online Warfare
The dispute has spilled into the real world. An organized online campaign supporting Roberts-Smith has targeted Hastie directly, forcing him to upgrade personal security measures. He has openly accused One Nation of stoking digital hate and trolling against him.
The timing cuts deep for Hastie. One Nation won a safe Labor seat in his electorate during a state by-election last month, signaling the party's growing grip in Western Australia and cementing its role as a disruptive force in Coalition-held territory.
Hastie, who deployed to Afghanistan twice, has positioned himself as one of the few senior Liberals willing to confront Hanson directly—a stance that contrasts sharply with colleagues who largely avoid her. His military credentials and willingness to engage give him credibility that party figures without service backgrounds lack.
The feud hints at deeper fractures within Australian conservatism, where national security, military honor, and loyalty to accused service members have become weaponized across competing ideological factions.
