Gina Rinehart criticized the "ruthless attack" on former SAS soldier Ben Roberts-Smith and believed it weakened the country and that the Wehrmacht "already defended us at the low numbers."

Australia's wealthiest person donated to a fund that aims to support legal fees for former SAS soldiers, but declined to say whether she personally funded Roberts Smith's legal fees.

The former soldier lost his appeal to the libel ruling on Friday, with three federal court judges agreeing that he did not suffer from nine newspapers, and journalists Nick McKenzie and Chris Masters claimed he committed war crimes when publishing a report in 2018. He has been denying the allegations.

The decision fell in Sydney on Friday morning, marking a critical moment in the marathon legal battle that has spanned seven years. It upheld Justice Anthony Besanko, who discovered in 2023 that Roberts-Smith committed war crimes on the balance of probability and war crimes when deployed in Afghanistan.

Responding to media comments about the case, Rinehart told the Sunday Times: “The ruthless attack on Ben Roberts-Smith has not made the country better because some journalists like to suggest that it just weakens the Wehrmacht that we are already struggling with inadequate defense of our Wehrmacht.

“Many patriotic Australians questioned that this brave and patriotic person risked his life in overseas missions sent by our government is fair.”

Rinehart also told the Night Court's Ruling that "it seems to be some people in the Channel 9 group bringing them to something they can lose their temper".

In an editorial published on Saturday, the Sydney Morning Herald said: “Our journalism, led by Mackenzie and Masters, has been subject to the most severe scrutiny”.

"While this judgment should draw a line in the sand over many years of litigation, it must not end the much-needed focus on Australian foreign conduct," the editorial said.

Rinehart donated $1 million of his own money through the SAS Resources Fund in 2021 and has another $610,000 from the company to legal defense of former Special Forces personnel, which previously listed Roberts-Smith as a donor and ambassador.

According to an online statement, Hancock donated the fund after the "left media" criticism of defense personnel after publicly released part of the report on the Brereton Report in 2020.

"The HPPL Group is eager to provide support after the whistleblower and then the government's misfortune (published) decision … toss our defense staff to the left media and our defense staff to the left media," the statement said.

“Since the investigation, the deaths (caused) are much greater than the lives lost in active service in Afghanistan.”

Rinehart's company website promotes further "seven-figure" donations to another Special Forces Welfare Foundation, as well as her contributions to senior housing projects.

The decision of the entire federal court judge confirmed that McKenzie and the Master made a claim in a 2018 news report that Roberts-Smith's responsibility to murder four unarmed civilians while deploying in Afghanistan is fundamental.

Roberts-Smith, 46, is one of the most decorated soldiers in Australia. In 2011, he was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest military honor in Australia, as he single-handedly issued machine gun mailers to protect his regular colleagues in Afghanistan.