ABC journalist Mark Willacy denies breaching editorial standards in Heston Russell articles

Senior reporter denies breaching the broadcaster’s standards of accuracy, impartiality over articles on former commando Heston Russell.

Former Commando Heston Russell outside court. Picture: NCA Newswire /Gaye Gerard

A senior ABC journalist has conceded an article on an investigation into alleged war crimes carried a “strong inference” of the involvement of a platoon then led by Heston Russell but said he had no evidence the former commando was physically present at the time of the alleged offending.

The Federal Court on Wednesday was shown snippets of a 66-minute mashup video of the November platoon that showed all members with short hair and boots despite the ABC’s key source telling reporters the soldiers had long wild hair and wore earrings, sneakers and backwards baseball caps.

In other evidence, the court heard the ABC issued an inaccurate and potentially misleading press release to accompany the second of two articles about alleged war crimes in Afghanistan in 2012.

ABC investigative journalist Joshua Robertson, under cross examination by Russell’s lawyer Sue Chrysanthou SC, conceded the second article carried a “strong inference” that the war crimes being investigated were the same as detailed in the first story.

Robertson said he had no information that Mr Russell was physically present at the time of the alleged war crimes but said he’d named the former commando and written he was present on the platoon’s operations to include his denial.

“In my mind there was no question of accusing Mr Russell of being directly involved in this,” he said.

“We simply had no evidence to support that he was directly involved in this.”

Russell is suing the ABC, Mark Willacy and journalist Josh Robertson over two articles published in 2021 which he says, through the use of links and his photograph, implied he was complicit in the execution of the prisoner, who was captured during a joint drug enforcement operation ­between Australia and the US.

ABC investigations reporter Mark Willacy outside the Federal Court in Sydney on Wednesday.

On Wednesday Willacy told the Federal Court that amending an online article to include a disclosure that a complaint had been received from Mr Russell was “above my paygrade” and denied giving the ABC’s defamation defence to The Guardian’s media writer.

Under cross examination by Ms Chrysanthou, Willacy denied breaching the ABC’s editorial standards on accuracy, fair and honest dealings and the use of sources.

“I disagree, my policies were signed off both editorially and legally,” he said.

Mr Willacy also denied breaching the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance code of ethics and suppressing relevant available facts.

Russell is seeking aggravated damages and for the ABC to remove the article and stop repeating the allegations.

The Federal Court heard Robertson told Willacy he believed the killing took place in June or July but the ex-commando released a statement shortly after the article was published stating his platoon did not arrive until September.

When Ms Chrysanthou asked Willacy whether it occurred to him after receiving that information from Russell that his story was “just wrong”, the senior ABC journalist replied “No.”

“It was my understanding, and I don’t know how Mr Russell seems to know that they operated in Helmand not until September, but it was my understanding they were there before that in August,” said Willacy.