Latest news with #Anzacday
West Australian
24-04-2025
- Politics
- West Australian
Australian politics and news live: Outrage as Anzac Day dawn services disrupted by protesters, hecklers
Scroll down for all the latest news and views. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has slammed 'disrespectful' protestors at Friday morning's Anzac day dawn service in Melbourne. Ms Allan condemned the group that interrupted by screaming and shouting during Bunerong elder and senior cultural heritage officer Mark Brown's welcome to country. '(It) runs counter to why we gather at the Shrine at dawn (with) hundreds of thousands people across the country simultaneously,' Ms Allan said on the ABC. 'They gather to never forget what war is like and why it is so important so we can gather peacefully today because of that sacrifice.' Loud heckling and booing was heard on speakers as the protestors stood near the microphones, prior to the dawn service ceremony. Multiple men could be heard yelling. 'Give us our country back,' one screamed and 'we don't have to be welcomed,' another could be heard yelling Despite the abuse, Mr Brown persisted in delivering the heartfelt Welcome to Country, with the crowd responding with cheers of support. One of the men who hurled abuse at Brown has been identified as a neo-nazi. After the ceremony, he was seen being escorted from the Shrine of Remembrance by police. Victoria Police confirmed they are aware of a small group disrupting the dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance this morning. 'Police identified as 26-year-old man from Kensington male in relation to the behaviour. He has subsequently been interviewed for offensive behaviour and police will proceed via summons. 'The male has been directed to leave the Shrine of Remembrance.' A solemn memorial has been marred by booing as a small cohort of hecklers interrupted a Welcome to Country ceremony at an Anzac Day dawn service. Hushed whispers earlier filled the air as masses of people turned out under the cloak of pre-dawn darkness in Melbourne on Friday to commemorate those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. Some 110 years since Australian and New Zealand soldiers rowed towards the desolate shores of Gallipoli at half light during World War I, tens of thousands of Victorians attended the Shrine of Remembrance for one message: lest we forget. With the crescent moon still hanging overhead and the forecourt of the war memorial illuminated only by the deep red glow, attendees stood shoulder to shoulder in the chilly morning to mark Anzac Day. But the peace was broken during Bunurong elder Mark Brown's Welcome to Country, when heckles and boos came from members of the crowd. Read the full story here. King Charles has sent a message to Australian veterans of WWII, in this 80th anniversary year of the war's end, thanking them for their selfless service. 'The passing of the years has in no way diminished the courageous deeds of those who sacrificed so much in the line of duty and in the pursuit of peace, freedom and justice,' the King says in the message released to coincide with Anzac Day. 'For many years now, you have carried the memory of that dreadful conflict, and the weight of grief for others who fell in your country's service. 'I am always deeply touched when I hear of the love and pride veterans feel for their fallen comrades and family members, and that there are few days in which they do not think of them. 'I know that it is no small burden to bear that the final resting places of the fallen are often so far from home.' The King has called for everyone to remain vigilant in upholding the values our soldiers fought for during the Second World War. 'Like others of my generation, I owe my peaceful childhood to the steadfast efforts of those of your comrades, with yourselves, in overcoming tyranny. For this I feel the most profound gratitude,' he says. The King also pays tribute to current serving personnel and all Australian and New Zealand veterans, who he says continue to enact the indomitable spirit of Anzac. 'It is my fervent hope that the years have brought you to a place of peace, and that peace shall remain with you always.' The Nightly's Katina Curtis was on hand as Prime Minister Anthony Albanese solemnly as he gazed over the 25,000 people gathered for the national Anzac Day service. They spilled off the new parade ground in front of the War Memorial and down Anzac Parade towards the shores of the lake and Parliament House. 'We who are gathered here think of those who went out to the battlefields of all wars, but did not return,' Mr Albanese said, giving the Anzac dedication. 'We feel them still near us in spirit. We wish to be worthy of their great sacrifice.' Read the full story here. Veterans Affairs Minister Matt Keogh says the disruption of the Anzac Day service in Melbourne is 'completely inappropriate and disgusting'. He referred to reports that booing of Indigenous soldiers and a Welcome to Country were led by someone known to be involved in neo-Nazi activities. 'Frankly, when we come together to commemorate on Anzac Day, we're commemorating some of those soldiers who fell in a war that was fought against that sort of hateful ideology,' he tells Radio National. 'And so it was completely disrespectful, and is not something that's welcomed.' Barnaby Joyce, the shadow minister for veterans affairs, says people who decide to make Anzac Day and the dawn service a platform for their protests should be held in 'total and utter contempt'. 'Any person who desecrates that in any way, shape or form is a complete and utter disgrace,' he tells Radio National, noting that Anzac Day is Australia's most sacred day. As well as a Palestine protester in Canberra this morning, Melbourne's dawn service was also interrupted. Members of a far-right group booed and heckled during the welcome to country for Victoria's main dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance. Onlookers said it was 'concerning' according to Sunrise as you could hear the group over the speakers, as they were standing near the microphones screaming things like 'it's Australia' and 'we're here for the Anzacs'. After the solemnity of the Last Post and minute's silence, the Canberra War Memorial service came to and end with a benediction, urging the crowd to 'be of good courage, hold fast to that which is good'. In the moment of silence that followed, a lone voice on the parade ground shouted, 'Free Palestine.' Someone called out, 'Kick a landmine.' Another man in the crowd also called out, adding: 'f**k off'. New Zealand high commissioner Andrew Needs and NSW Governor Margaret Beazley have laid wreaths as bagpipes played the Lament at the War Memorial in Canberra. Deputy chief of Navy Read Admiral Matt Buckley tells the story of the Buck family who gave generations of service to Australia. 'Our history tells us much about who we are as a nation,' he says. 'It illustrates that a culture of service is and always has been the beating heart of our national identity,' Opposition leader Peter Dutton has recounted the stories of two veterans in his message of remembrance this Anzac Day. Mr Dutton singled out two men among so many who made victories in World War Two possible: Australians John Holmes and Thomas Derrick. He honoured Brisbane-born Holmes, who enlisted in the air force and embarked on two tours of duty but died ages 23 on his 44th straight mission when his Lancaster bomber was hit by enemy fire. 'A world away, Thomas Derrick was preparing for his next deployment,' Mr Dutton said. 'The South Australian was a seasoned and decorated soldier. He'd been a Rat of Tobruk. He'd displayed gallantry in running through a barrage of grenades in Egypt and he'd received the Victoria Cross for clearing ten Japanese machine-gun posts in Papua New Guinea.' Read the full story here. The national dawn service has heard the haunting sounds of a didgeridoo reverberating off the amphitheatre of the new parade ground at the Australian War Memorial. This is followed by the hymn O Valiant Hearts. The Prime Minister read the Anzac Day dedication to make the hour in 1915 when 'ANZAC became one of the immortal names in history'. 'We who are gathered here think of those who went out to the battlefields of all wars, but did not return,' Mr Albanese says. 'We feel them still near us in spirit. We wish to be worthy of their great sacrifice. 'Let us therefore once more dedicate ourselves to the ideals for which they died. 'As the dawn is even now about to pierce the night so let their memory inspire us to work for the coming new light into the dark places of the world.'
The Guardian
24-04-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Australia news live: political leaders condemn ‘disrespectful' booing of Welcome to Country at Melbourne Anzac Day dawn service
Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature The minister for veterans' affairs, Matt Keogh, says booing heard at a dawn service in Melbourne was 'concerning'. Speaking to Sky News earlier, Keogh said that it wasn't 'mandatory' for people to attend services, but if they did, they needed to be respectful. These are days of commemoration, they're days of peaceful respect… It's expected that people who do attend Anzac day ceremonies do so respectfully and it's concerning that some people didn't show due respect to that service. Liberal MP Keith Wolahan, who has previously served in the ADF, told Sky News he didn't want to give the person responsible for the booing 'any more air time'. I don't think that person deserves any more airtime than they've been given already … It's one person, one person out of a nation that gathered [en] mass to acknowledge this day. This day isn't about that person, it's about those who served and sacrificed. Share Show key events only Please turn on JavaScript to use this feature Sarah Basford Canales Peter Dutton has travelled to Samford for a second Anzac day event in his electorate today. We're still in Dickson but the town in the mountains north-west of Brisbane hugs the electorate's border with Blair, held by Labor's Shayne Neumann on a 5.23% two-party preferred margin. The opposition leader is joined again by his wife, Kirilly, sitting in the front row. He's expected to lay a wreath but make no remarks. Share Joyce says there will be 'no cuts' to the department of veterans' affairs under the Coalition's commitment to cut 41,000 public servants from Canberra over the next five years. He says, 'I can promise you that when there will not be cuts in DVA'. The Coaltion has said there will be no forced redundancies, and will look at natural attrition (where you don't refill a role when a worker leaves) and hiring freezes. Joyce says: You look for people in retirement, and you do the cogent work of seeing if there can be any greater efficacy in the delivery, in the delivery of the taxpayers money by public servants. Now if, quite obviously, the…reduction in their frontline service means harm to somebody else, then it doesn't pass the test, does it? Joyce admits mistakes were made in the past, over a lack of staff in the department of veterans' affairs and the culture within the department of defence – both issues which were brought up by the royal commission. Joyce says he won't engage in a debate on the issue on Anzac day, and would talk more about those issues at a later time, but said he wouldn't 'start making excuses' about the problems that the royal commission identified. I'm not going to start making excuses, nor… participate in a parochial debate on ANZAC Day. I'm quite happy to have it on another but let's just go with the process of if you make a mistake, you fix it up. And we have offered bipartisan support in making sure that this issue is fixed up. Share Barnaby Joyce calls booing an 'utter disgrace' Shadow veterans' affairs minister Barnaby Joyce has also spoken to RN Breakfast, and calls the booing in Melbourne an 'utter disgrace'. Joyce calls the dawn service one of the 'most sacred' ceremonies in Australia: … Australians are pretty easy going. We don't like to yak … on or carry on, but [it is] the most sacred day for us as a day and the dawn service is probably our most sacred ceremony. And any person who desecrates that in any way, shape or form, is a complete and utter disgrace. Share Luca Ittimani RSL Victoria condemns 'completely disrespectful' behaviour during Melbourne dawn service RSL Victoria has joined Victoria's premier and the federal government in condemning the 'completely disrespectful' behaviour. The boos and yells recurred throughout a welcome to country delivered by Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown at the 5:30 am service at the city's Shrine of Remembrance. RSL Victoria's branch president, Robert Webster, said: The actions of that very small minority were completely disrespectful to veterans and the spirit of Anzac Day. In response to that, the applause of everybody else attending drowned it out and showed the respect befitting of the occasion. Melbourne man Dave said other attendees at the service rebuked the hecklers, telling 3AW: The service was amazing this morning [but] those guys that were booing this morning and their partners, some of them ... it was really disappointing to hear it. but to hear the people turn to him and tell him that wasn't the place or the time to do it is what I was really proud of. Share Matt Keogh claims he knows identity of person who led booing at dawn service Veterans' affairs minister Matt Keogh says the booing heard in Melbourne was 'disgraceful', and it's understood that it was led by a neo-Nazi. Politicians have all come out this morning condemning the behaviour. Keogh told ABC RN Breakfast: What we saw occur there is frankly disgraceful. We know now that that booing was led by someone who's a known neo-Nazi. And frankly, when we come together to commemorate on Anzac Day, we're commemorating some of those soldiers who fell in a war that was fought against that sort of hateful ideology. Asked how he knows a neo-Nazi was involved, Keogh says: I've seen the public reporting of at least one of the names of one of the people that was involved in that and that person is known publicly for their engagement as in neo-Nazi activity in Australia. Share Earlier, we heard reports that boos were heard in a crowd at the Melbourne dawn service, during the welcome to country. Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown was welcoming attendees. The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, responded to those reports on ABC radio this morning, saying, 'It's beyond disappointing'. Bunurong elder delivers the Welcome to C country during the Anzac Day dawn service at Melbourne's shrine of remembrance. Photograph: Diego Fedele/AAP Share The minister for veterans' affairs, Matt Keogh, says booing heard at a dawn service in Melbourne was 'concerning'. Speaking to Sky News earlier, Keogh said that it wasn't 'mandatory' for people to attend services, but if they did, they needed to be respectful. These are days of commemoration, they're days of peaceful respect… It's expected that people who do attend Anzac day ceremonies do so respectfully and it's concerning that some people didn't show due respect to that service. Liberal MP Keith Wolahan, who has previously served in the ADF, told Sky News he didn't want to give the person responsible for the booing 'any more air time'. I don't think that person deserves any more airtime than they've been given already … It's one person, one person out of a nation that gathered [en] mass to acknowledge this day. This day isn't about that person, it's about those who served and sacrificed. Share Luca Ittimani 'Anzac spirit lives on in today's soldiers,' major general tells Sydney crowd Staying with Sydney's dawn service, the crowd heard from Major General Matt Burr, commander of the second division of Army reserves, commemorating the sacrifices of service men and women past and present: Service before self is the straight line that runs through our history and binds us together … I can tell you that the Anzac spirit lives on in today's soldiers, sailors and aviators. The second division is tasked with defending Australia, and we stand ready to do just that. Burr said defence forces had displayed the 'Anzac legacy [of] courage, endurance and sacrifice' since world wars one and two in conflicts in the Malayan emergency, Korea, Vietnam, East Timor, Iraq, Afghanistan and peacekeeping missions: It is something we see when we deal with adversity. Australians embrace nation before self and serve with dignity and pride when our country is most in need. Share Luca Ittimani Thousands gather despite showers for Sydney's dawn service Thousands gathered for an Anzac Day service before dawn in Sydney's Martin Place despite intermittent showers. Veterans and members of the public wore raincoats and carried umbrellas at a 4:30am service bookended by rain to mark 110 years since Australian and New Zealand defence forces landed at Gallipoli. The crowd stood in silence as defence personnel spoke and the Australian Army band played Abide With Me, God Save the King and the national anthems of New Zealand and Australia. Labor frontbencher Tanya Plibersek and Liberal frontbencher Sussan Ley laid wreaths at Sydney's Cenotaph on behalf of the prime minister and opposition leader, who were each attending other events around the country this morning. Also in attendance were New South Wales' premier, Chris Minns, the state opposition leader, Mark Speakman, and Sydney's lord mayor, Clover Moore. Share Good morning, Krishani Dhanji here with you, thanks to Martin Farrer for getting us started this morning. The prime minister is in Canberra, while Peter Dutton is in Brisbane for Anzac day dawn ceremonies this morning, as we come to the pointy end of this election campaign. We'll bring you all of that as it comes. Share There are reports from Melbourne that some of the crowd at the dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance were booing proceedings. The Age and the Australian report that a group of men shouted over Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown as he welcomed attendees to his father's land. The Australian heard shouts of 'this is our country' and 'we don't have to be welcomed'. They also reportedly interrupted an address by the Victorian governor, Margaret Gardner, booing her Acknowledgement of Country. Share Dawn services take place across Australia Veterans and members of the public are attending services across the country. In Sydney: Veterans take shelter beneath a poncho as they participate in the annual Anzac Day dawn service at the Martin Place Cenotaph in Sydney. Photograph: Saeed Khan/AFP/Getty Images In Melbourne: People gather to pay their respects during the Anzac Day dawn service at the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne. Photograph: Martin Keep/AFP/Getty Images And in Canberra: Members of the Catafalque party dismount during the Anzac Day dawn service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Share Peter Dutton drags Coalition primary vote to lowest levels in YouGov poll Though the campaigns are officially on pause this morning for Anzac Day events, we are now barely a week from election day – and the polls are continuing to look bad for the Coalition. The Coalition's primary vote plunging to its lowest level in a leading poll as the election looms large, Australian Associated Press reports. The Coalition's primary vote has dropped to 31%, down from 33% last week, the latest YouGov poll provided to AAP shows. Labor's primary vote is up 0.5% to 33.5%. The lowest-ever primary vote the Coalition had received in YouGov polling is driven by the opposition leader's unpopularity, the organisation's director of public data, Paul Smith, says. 'The public have clearly made a decision that they don't want Peter Dutton as prime minister,' he told AAP. 'The Coalition is going backwards at a rate of knots.' The YouGov polling shows Labor leading the Coalition by 53.5% to 46.5% on a two-party preferred basis. Labor's support is higher than its 2022 federal election result of 52.1%, while the coalition's is 4.7% lower than it achieved at that election. Anthony Albanese (50%) has also extended his lead over Dutton (35 %) as preferred prime minister. Dutton's net satisfaction rating dipped to minus 18 from minus 10 last week while Albanese's was down slightly to minus seven from minus six. Share Here are some images from the dawn services attended by the prime minister and opposition leader. As a reminder, Peter Dutton is in his electorate of Dickson in Queensland, while Anthony Albanese is at the War Memorial in Canberra: Peter Dutton at an Anzac Day dawn service ceremony at the Norths Leagues Club in Kallangur. Photograph: Mick Tsikas/AAP Anthony Albanese speaks during the Anzac Day dawn service at the Australian War Memorial. Photograph: Lukas Coch/AAP Share Paul Daley on Anzac Day's increasing Christian elements While Australia becomes increasingly secular, today's Anzac services will be steeped in religious imagery and terminology, writes Paul Daley. He argues that the 'abundance of Christianity in Anzac Day services stands to emotionally and culturally isolate more and more people': The Australian War Memorial's Anzac dawn service is popularly revered as a solemn and respectful commemoration of Australia's participation in the Gallipoli invasion in 1915 – an event many still (fallaciously, I've long argued) cling to as the birth of the Australian nation. But not everyone believes the ceremony ought continue to include elements of traditional Christian worship as it conventionally has, and as it did last year and doubtless will again this year. Last year, again, there were Christian hymns. The Lord's Prayer. A presiding Christian chaplain. Read his full piece here: Share Emily Wind The opposition leader has issued a statement to mark Anzac Day as 'one of the most significant, solemn and sacred days' on the Australian national calendar. Peter Dutton said that on this particular Anzac Day, 'we will especially feel the weight of history'. 2025 marks 80 years since the end of the second world war. That global conflagration engulfed almost every continent and almost every country. Barely a city or town, a suburb or street, a community or citizen was unscathed in some way by the catastrophe of that all-encompassing conflict. On this 80-year anniversary, Dutton expressed his gratitude 'to the one million Australians who served and served with great honour': We honour the 39,000 Australians who gave their lives. They experienced the horror of war to defeat tyranny and restore peace. As the custodians of that peace, it's our duty to deter tyranny and prevent catastrophic war. In that duty, may we never waver in effort, energy and endeavour – spurred on by the souls we commemorate on Anzac Day. Lest we forget. Share The prime minister attended the service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Anthony Albanese said this morning it was important to take time out of the flurry of campaigning to honour Australia's defence forces, 110 years after the Gallipoli landings. 'As we gather around cenotaphs or watch the parades, we reflect on all who have served in our name and all who serve now,' Albanese said. 'We contemplate the debt we owe them – those who finally came home, their hearts reshaped by all they had seen and those who tragically never did. 'Anzac Day asks us to stand against the erosion of time. So each year, we renew our vow to keep the flame of memory burning so brightly that its glow touches the next generation and the generation after that.' Share Sarah Basford Canales Peter Dutton attends dawn service in his electorate of Dickson It was an early morning for media following Peter Dutton on his campaign bus. The opposition leader is in his own electorate of Dickson, north of Brisbane, visiting the Norths Leagues & Services Club in Kallangur for an Anzac dawn service. It's a dreary morning for the solemn event, with the rain proving relentless. Dutton was joined by his wife, Kirilly, in the front row under a marquee sheltered from the rain. Share Martin Farrer Good morning and welcome to our live news blog. I'm Martin Farrer with the top overnight stories and then it'll be Krishani Dhanji with the main action. The leaders of the major parties have paused their campaigns this morning to attend Anzac Day dawn services. The prime minister has been at the service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, while the opposition leader was at an event in Brisbane in his own electorate. Albanese said the memory of the fallen must be kept alive while Dutton said it was Australians' 'duty to deter tyranny and prevent catastrophic war'. More coming up. Our top story this Anzac Day morning is that the defence department has issued a 'respectful request' to veterans such as the shadow defence minister, Andrew Hastie, and others who are standing as election candidates to stop using pictures of themselves in military uniform on their campaign material. Another of our top stories is the Coalition pledging that if they got into government they would abandon a longstanding Howard-era target for a two-thirds share for skilled migrants in an effort to slash permanent migration by 25%, or 45,000 people, next year. They need to make an impact, because a poll out today shows its primary vote has slipped to 31% with Labor up to 33.5%. Labor is leading by 53.5% to 46.5% on a two-party preferred basis, matching strong numbers in other recent polls. Share
Sydney Morning Herald
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Sydney Morning Herald
Anzac Day 2025 LIVE updates: Albanese, Dutton attend dawn services amid federal election campaign
Latest posts Latest posts 4.22am Two-up: a 'fair dinkum' tradition or a devilish game of skill? Penry Buckley Heads or tails? It's a simple choice, with a fair outcome. But it's only in Australia that it's become a national pastime and, some might argue, a sport. The game of two-up, where punters bet on the outcome of two coins thrown into the air, has a reputation for being 'fair dinkum', a reminder of its 19th-century goldfield beginnings. But its uptake by Australian soldiers in both world wars has seen it enshrined in the national mythology. The game is now played play once a year on Anzac Day with near-religious reverence at pubs and RSLs following dawn services nationwide. So as you enter the ring this Anzac Day, what can you use to your advantage? Is a coin toss ever really fair, and is two-up a fiendish game of skill or one of pure chance? You can read the full story by Penry Buckley here. 4.18am Rinehart calls for enormous increase in defence spending By Paul Sakkal and Shane Wright At last night's Anzac Day eve service in Sydney, Australia's richest person, mining magnate Gina Rinehart, called for a gargantuan rise in defence spending to 5 per cent of GDP, as Peter Dutton and Richard Marles watched on from the audience. Dutton, Marles and former prime ministers Tony Abbott, Scott Morrison and John Howard were guests at the Channel Seven Anzac Day Eve ceremony just outside the Sydney Opera House. It came a day after the Coalition leader said if his party formed government, it would take defence spending to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030 and to 3 per cent by the middle of the next decade. Defence spending under Labor is projected to rise from 2.02 per cent of GDP this year to 2.3 per cent by 2034, making the Coalition's 3 per cent long-term pledge significantly more ambitious. You can read the full story here. 4.13am Welcome By Nick Newling Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the federal election. Today we bring you a special early edition of the national blog, in which we will be following commemorations of Anzac day across the country. My name is Nick Newling, and I'll be taking you through all the morning's news as it happens. We are expecting to see both Anthony Albanese and Peter Dutton attend services this morning.
