Hecklers boo Welcome to Country address at Melbourne Anzac Day dawn service

Australia Broadcast Center

24-04-2025

Premier Jacinta Allan has condemned hecklers who booed Indigenous Australians at Melbourne's Anzac Day dawn service.
Thousands had gathered at Melbourne's Shrine of Remembrance on Friday morning for the dawn service.
But the solemn mood of the event was broken during a Welcome to Country address given by Gunditjmara man Uncle Mark Brown, when members of the crowd began to jeer and heckle.
Some hecklers demanded the Welcome to Country be stopped, but were drowned out by applause from the rest of the gathered crowd.
The dawn service was disrupted by boos and jeers at points throughout the ceremony.
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ABC News: Danielle Bonica
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'To pierce the sombre silence and to pierce the solemnity of the dawn service isn't just disrespectful, it dishonours the very thing that the men and women who fought and lost their lives is about,' Ms Allan said.
'It's beyond disappointing and again, runs counter to why we gather at the Shrine at dawn.'
Victorian governor Margaret Gardner was also booed during her speech at the service, after acknowledging the traditional owners of the land.
RSL Victoria president Robert Webster was also quick to condemn the disruptors.
"The actions of that very small minority was completely disrespectful to veterans and the spirit of Anzac Day," he said.
"In response to that, the applause of everybody else attending drowned it out and showed the respect befitting of the occasion."
Thousands of people attended the dawn service in Melbourne.
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ABC News: Danielle Bonica
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In a statement, Victoria Police confirmed a 26-year-old man from Kensington was being investigated over the heckling.
"Police are aware of a small group of people disrupting the dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance this morning," a Victoria Police spokesperson said.
"He has subsequently been interviewed for offensive behaviour and police will proceed via summons."