Victoria Cross recipient Ben Roberts-Smith was "not an honest and reliable witness" who lied about his involvement in war crimes to gain financially from his now failed defamation cases against the media.

In a Federal Court judgment published today, Justice Anthony Besanko made damning findings against the former SAS corporal who had "motives to lie" about the events in Afghanistan.

"I find that (Roberts-Smith) was not an honest and reliable witness," the judge wrote.

READ MORE: Former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith's defamation claims thrown out

During a 2009 raid on Easter Sunday on a compound codenamed Whiskey 108 in Uruzgan Province, Roberts-Smith machine-gunned an unarmed prisoner in the back, taking the man's prosthetic leg back to Australia to use as a beer drinking vessel.

Roberts-Smith also stood silent while a rookie soldier was ordered to execute an elderly Afghan prisoner so he could be "blooded".

Besanko called the former SAS corporal's denials of these incidents "highly improbable" after hearing from independent witnesses with no reason to be dishonest.

The same could not be said about Roberts-Smith, the judge said.

"The applicant has motives to lie, being a financial motive to support his claim for damages in these proceedings, a motive to restore his reputation which he contends has been destroyed by the publication of the articles and significantly, a motive to resist findings against him which may affect whether further action is taken against him."

READ MORE: Ben Roberts-Smith resigns from Seven after landmark defamation ruling

Besanko found one of the newspapers' central claims – that Roberts-Smith had kicked an unarmed and handcuffed man, Ali Jan, off a 10-metre cliff and then ensured he was shot – was true.

As evidence of his guilt, Roberts-Smith attempted to cover up the unlawful killing at Darwan in September, 2012 by removing Jan's handcuffs and planting a radio alongside his lifeless body before he was photographed.

Roberts-Smith then told fellow SAS soldiers who witnessed the incident to stick to an approved story that Jan was a spotter who they killed legitimately.

In accepting the newspapers' claims, Besanko also rejected Roberts-Smith's account of the incident, which was riddled with a "number of improbabilities".

In October, 2012 in the Chinartu district, Roberts-Smith also ordered another soldier to execute an unarmed Afghan prisoner being interrogated after his troop discovered a fake wall cavity filled with weapons, including rocket propelled grenades and warheads.

"Person 12 then gave instructions to an NDS-Wakunish soldier who then shot the Afghan male in circumstances amounting to murder. The applicant was complicit in and responsible for murder," Besanko said.

In his summary judgment delivered on Thursday, Justice Besanko dismissed the cases against The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald, The Canberra Times and three journalists over their reports published in 2018.

If you are a current or former ADF member, or a relative, and need counselling or support, you can contact the Defence All-Hours Support Line on 1800 628 036 or Open Arms on 1800 011 046.

Nine, the publisher of this website, is also the publisher of The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

Veon Smith, 48, was last seen wearing track pants and a checked shirt.

The Herald understands the model being considered doesn’t have a built-in camera.

Chris Dawson would sneak out to the beach with one of his teenage high school students and the pair were seen kissing and cuddling in a swimming pool, a judge has been told.

Dawson, 74, has pleaded not guilty to engaging in sexual activity with the then 16-year-old student, known in court as AB, between July and December 1980.

On Monday, AB's friend gave evidence in court recounting times when the teacher and his twin brother Paul Dawson would spend time with the two girls.

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The friend, known for legal reasons as CD, said that in years 9 and 10, she went to fitness classes in the Sydney suburb of Lindfield with AB, Chris and Paul.

The four of them would be in the swimming pool "kissing and cuddling" after the classes, CD said.

"What were you able to observe of Christopher Dawson and (AB) in the pool? What do you recall?"

"They were together, bodies together," CD said.

CD babysat for Paul Dawson and his family while she was in year 8 and 9 and coached his daughter in netball, the court heard.

She denied claims by public defender Claire Wasley that there were other people in the pool at the time.

"I can guarantee you that there was zero people in the pool at the time that we were kissing and cuddling."

The NSW District Court heard the four would sneak out to the beach when they were meant to be playing sport and had a plan to come out of school at separate times so they would not be seen together.

She admitted that she was unsure of the exact times that this "socialising" occurred.

READ MORE: Chris Dawson accuser slams 'garbage' claim over new evidence

"I know it happened. I know we were being groomed. I don't know the exact dates," she told Judge Sarah Huggett.

On Monday, Wasley suggested CD's recollection of the events alleged was not only hazy but had been contaminated through conversations with a friend who linked her with news articles referring to an investigation into the disappearance of Chris Dawson's wife Lynette in 1982.

Dawson was also allegedly seen in the sports office of his Northern Beaches school standing close to AB who was sitting on his desk.

"She was sitting there with her legs apart and Mr Dawson was standing in between (them)," one former student told the court.

Another student said AB was "effectively a celebrity on the playground".

The man said he saw the pair on an almost daily basis, exhibiting "constant physical closeness" while Dawson did playground duty.

"She was like his sidekick. It was like she was doing playground duty with him," he told the court.

Wasley has previously argued the alleged sexual activity began in 1981, after AB had turned 17 and was no longer Dawson's student.

The historical carnal knowledge charge, which Dawson denies, was replaced in 1986.

The trial continues.

Readers seeking support can contact Lifeline on 13 11 14 or beyond blue on 1300 22 4636.

If you or someone you know is impacted by sexual assault, domestic or family violence, call 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 or visit 1800RESPECT.org.au. In an emergency, call 000.

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Brisbane mechanic Michael Reynolds was due for a hard-earned holiday, so when he saw a second-hand caravan selling for just $5900 he jumped at the chance to buy it.

The neat little camper trailer was all he needed for an end-of-summer break in Cairns.

But that holiday never happened. 

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Instead, for the last two months, Reynolds has found himself stuck in a banking nightmare after making one tiny mistake which saw his $5900 seemingly vanish without a trace.

The mistake happened when Reynolds was transferring his money online to the seller of the caravan.

"The seller had written his bank details down on a bit of paper," Reynolds said.

Eager to get the deal done, Reynolds opened up his ANZ online banking app and typed in the seller's BSB, account number and account name, before hitting transfer on the funds.

Reynolds then sent a screenshot of the payment to the seller, who immediately saw a problem – the account number was missing a digit.

However, the payment appeared to have been processed.

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Although online banking transactions require the recipient's name, BSB and account number, most banks only check the BSB and account number.

Within five minutes of the transaction, Reynolds said he was on the phone with his ANZ bank manager to alert him to the error.

"I called him immediately and he told me that, because the account number was a digit too short, the transaction wouldn't go through and the money would bounce back," Reynolds said.

Relieved, Reynolds made another transfer of $5900, this time to the correct account number, and waited for the money from the first transaction to reappear.

However, weeks later, the money from the March 14 transaction, sent to a Suncorp Bank account, still hadn't bounced back.

"All ANZ would tell me was that a trace had been done and the funds couldn't be recovered," Reynolds said.

Do you have a story? Contact reporter Emily McPherson at

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An Australian actress who was involved in a terrifying bus cash in Italy has slammed international travel company FlixBus for their lack of communication following the incident. 

Sydneysider Sinead Curry and her partner were on a bus travelling from Bari to Bologna, Italy, when it crashed near Avellino, about 50 kilometres east of Naples on Sunday morning.

Curry claims that the bus "hit something, went airborne, spun around and landed down an embankment" in a post on the short-form video-sharing app Tiktok.

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She claimed that passengers had to crawl out of a broken window in the mud to get to safety. 

Passengers then took shelter behind the bus when "several cars" struck it, "moving it closer to us," according to Curry. 

Fourteen people were injured and one person died, according to local media and the local fire and rescue department, Vigili del Fuoco.

"[there were] 38 passengers on board, and 5 cars [involved in the crash], the lifeless body of a man was found, 14 [have been] injured," they said in a Tweet.

https://twitter.com/vigilidelfuoco/status/1665265953632911360

READ MORE: Brazen Sydney restaurant burglary turns into comedy of errors

Curry claims passengers were offered a €10 ($16) meal voucher "for the inconvenience," following the accident, but had not heard anything further from the company.

"FlixBus, none of your numbers are working, they ring out, and they hang up on us," she said in a Tiktok video.

"We cannot get any information from FlixBus, we can't get our luggage back."

"There are a bunch of people who nearly died, [and] we don't have any information."

Curry was taken to hospital with other victims of the bus crash and was told to "go and pray at the church nearby," once she was discharged.

"We are very fortunate because we know people have already passed away," she said.

She and her partner were not badly injured, however, she mentions a third Australian "Natalie" who broke her collarbone in the incident.

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Curry explained in a second Tiktok video that she was eventually able to pick up her luggage nine hours after the crash.

FlixBus said they have provided a support line for passengers.

"FlixBus is maintaining close contact to all authorities on site and closely cooperating with them to investigate the causes of the event," a spokesperson said in a statement provide to ABC.

"FlixBus has provided a support line and email for passengers and their families. Outbound calls were made to passengers who had registered their mobile numbers, and emails were sent to passengers with instructions.

"At all times, the safety of its passengers and drivers is of highest priority to FlixBus."

9News.com.au has reached out to FlixBus for comment. 

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