Crossing the Line

SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2024 ABIA GENERAL NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 WALKLEY BOOK AWARD
SHORTLISTED FOR THE 2023 AUSTRALIAN POLITICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR

’There is no doubt the truth would have been concealed and our concerns buried without Nick McKenzie’srelentless pursuit of justice.’ SAS Afghanistan veteran

War is brutal. But there are lines that should never be crossed. In mid-2017, whispers of executions, and cover-ups within Australia’s most secretive and elite military unit, the SAS, reached Walkley Award-winning journalist Nick McKenzie. He and Chris Masters began an investigation that would not only reveal shocking truths about Ben Roberts-Smith VC but plunge the reporters into the defamation trial of the century.

For five years, McKenzie led the investigation, waging an epic battle for the truth to be acknowledged. His fight to reveal the real face of Australia’s most famous and revered SAS soldier and examine evidence of bullying, intimidation, war crimes and murder would take him across Australia and to Afghanistan.

As he unearthed the secrets Ben Roberts-Smith had thought he’d long ago buried, McKenzie had to deal with death threats, powerful forces intent on destroying his career and attempts to silence brave SAS soldiers, who had witnessed their famous comrade commit unspeakable acts. McKenzie would break the stories that proved the man idolised by the public, politicians, the media and leading business leaders was a myth. His efforts would help deliver justice to Roberts-Smith’s victims and their families.

Explosive and meticulously researched, Crossing the Line shares the powerful untold story of how a small group of brave soldiers and two determined reporters overcame a plot to suppress one of the greatest military scandals in Australian history.

’Extraordinary . . . Riveting . . . An insight into the finest investigative journalism in this country’ LAW INSTITUTE JOURNAL

Nick McKenzie is one of the nation’s most decorated investigative journalists, having been named Australian Journalist of the Year on four separate occasions. Over two decades, he has worked for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation’s Four Corners program, Nine’s 60 Minutes and the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age newspapers. His reporting spans politics, defence, foreign affairs, the criminal justice system, corporate crime and social affairs. He has been awarded the Walkley, Australia’s highest journalism award, a record fourteen times.