Ben Roberts-Smith inspired federal MP Andrew Hastie to join the Special Air Service - but the politician told a court he now believes his former hero is a bully and possible war criminal.
Mr Hastie was giving evidence against the Victoria Cross recipient in his defamation action over allegations he committed war crimes in Afghanistan, bullied colleagues, and assaulted his mistress.
Roberts-Smith, 43, denies all the allegations reported by The Age, The Sydney Morning Herald and The Canberra Times, who are defending the claims as true.
Mr Hastie - who served as a captain in the Special Air Service Regiment between 2010 and 2015 and is now assistant minister for defence - told the Federal Court he had heard allegations from many people about Mr Roberts-Smith during his service.
One man told him Mr Roberts-Smith punched him in the face while they were deployed, and others mentioned him shooting an already dead person, and that the actions which earned him the Victoria Cross were exaggerated.
He also came to believe Mr Roberts-Smith had been involved in an execution of an Afghan.
Former special forces soldier turned federal MP Andrew Hastie believes Ben Roberts-Smith is a 'bully and may be a war criminal'
Assistant Defence Minister Andrew Hastie has been called to give evidence he saw a soldier looking 'anxious and uncomfortable' after Ben Roberts-Smith allegedly ordered him to kill an Afghan insurgent
During his fifth tour of duty in Afghanistan, Mr Roberts-Smith (pictured) drew enemy fire away from pinned-down members of his patrol, stormed two enemy machine-gun posts and silenced them. He was awarded a Victoria Cross for his heroism
As whispers of misconduct by Australian forces in Afghanistan began to build, Mr Hastie recalled talking to his second-in-command in 2013 to set expectations about their next deployment.
'He said...'I'm not going to Afghanistan to put dirt farmers on their knees and shoot them in the back of the head',' something Mr Hastie understood to be a reference to Mr Roberts-Smith.
While he told the court he doesn't recall raising allegations about Mr Roberts-Smith to his superiors, he did speak to them about a policy which he felt incentivised soldiers to take the law into their own hands on the battlefield.
Mr Hastie previously told the court there was a widespread view Mr Roberts-Smith - once an advocate for mental health
