Ex special forces commander Heston Russell unleashes on Treasurer Jim Chalmers after ‘ridiculous’ excuse for budget blowout

Former commando Heston Russell has turned his attention away from sworn enemy the ABC and delivered a sharp blow to the Treasurer, accusing him of failing to do “basic accounting” by trying to blame veterans for a budget crisis.

Russell, who last year successfully sued the ABC for falsely reporting he was under investigation for shooting an unarmed prisoner, was scathing about Jim Chalmers’ excuse that ‘budget slippage’ was caused by spending on veterans .

Ahead of a mid-year statement, Dr Chalmers said on Sunday that a $1.8 billion “backlog” of veterans payments inherited from the Coalition would put “substantial pressure” on the budget outcome.

“It’s pretty unbelievable that the Treasurer is trying to justify a budget explosion over veterans’ back pay,” Russell tweeted Tuesday.

‘Probably the safest excuse for public acceptance – but why didn’t he predict this based on the previous budget? Didn’t he do his due diligence? #Apologies’

Mr Russell continued his thoughts in a subsequent post on social media, where he also aimed several salvos at the national broadcaster.

“Let’s look at the additional expenses for, for example, ABC’s legal costs, the ABC MD taking early retirement and receiving a half-million PA pension early, while also paying the full salary of a new MD,” he wrote .

‘It all seems far too easy and cashing in on support for veterans after the Royal Commission.’

Today it was announced that ABC has appointed former Nine CEO Hugh Marks as its new managing director, following David Anderson’s decision to quit after just one year with a five-year reappointment.

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“It’s not at all about claims not yet filed – so you would do due diligence and at least provide an estimate of those already filed and awaiting review and payout – as is the case every year,” Mr. tweeted Russell.

“It’s pretty basic basic accounting.”

Mr Russell received an outpouring of support online for his comments.

‘They were behind. They knew they were there. There is no excuse not to budget for them,” one X user wrote.

“If true it shows how superficial the budget preparation is, any junior accountant would have shown an accrual for this known liability,” said another.

Dr. Chalmers said the $1.8 billion bill for veterans was a backlog he inherited from the Coalition

A third added: ‘There’s no way they can blame the wiping of student debt (vote buying) or the electricity cuts (vote buying) or the vote failure or the greenwashing of energy dreams (virtue signaling).”

“No, no, it had to be those pesky veterans and their ‘money theft’.”

In April, Russell criticized the Albanian government for not supporting him during his defamation action against the ABC.

Mr Russell specifically mentioned Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Defense Personnel Minister Matt Keogh.

Mr Russell said he was “absolutely impressed” by the response Mr Keogh gave at a meeting in Canberra.

‘My opening comment was: ‘Why have we had no comment from your government?’ To which he said to me, “It is not government policy to comment on what media organizations do,” Russell said.

In October 2023, Mr Russell (pictured) won his defamation case against the ABC after a Federal Court judge ruled it could not prove the published articles had been reported in the public interest.

‘So I said, ‘Myself and my entire platoon had been through hell at the hands of the ABC: … To which I received a response saying, ‘I’m a lawyer and I must always default to what is appropriate by the ABC. law’.’

Mr. Russell said he had not heard from anyone in authority on the matter in the three years since the article’s publication and subsequent lawsuit.

“I didn’t even apply for a benefits check,” Mr. Russell said.

In October 2023, Mr Russell won his defamation case against the ABC after a Federal Court judge ruled that the broadcaster could not prove that the articles it published were in the public interest.

Russell sued the ABC and two investigative journalists over stories he said gave the false impression he was under investigation for shooting an unarmed prisoner.

Those stories, written and produced by journalists Mark Willacy and Josh Robertson, were broadcast on television, radio and online in October 2020 and on November 19, 2021.

The defamation case is estimated to have cost taxpayers up to $3.5 million in legal fees, on top of the nearly $400,000 in damages paid to Russell.

In September, the ABC was forced to admit that audio of additional gunfire was added to a video clip of Australian troops firing from a helicopter in Afghanistan.

The doctored helicopter footage, which showed Mr Russell commanding the soldier who fired a single warning shot at villagers, was identified by Channel Seven’s Spotlight programme.