Latest news with #Hersant
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Disrespectful Aussie removed from Dawn Service as Albanese slams extremists as 'cowards'
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has slammed those who interrupted Welcome to Country ceremonies during dawn services in Melbourne and Perth, claiming they must 'face the full force of the law'. Mr Albanese described heckling incidents during the Welcome to Country messages during the Anzac Day ceremonies on Friday morning as 'disgraceful'. 'There is no place in Australia for what occurred,' he told reporters in Canberra. 'The disruption of Anzac Day is beyond contempt, and the people responsible must face the full force of the law. This was an act of low cowardice on a day when we honour courage and sacrifice. 'Anzac Day is when we come together to remember all those who have served our country in war and the cause of peace, including those who continue to serve our nation today.' Tens of thousands gathered to pay their respects to soldiers past and present at Melbourne's Anzac Day Dawn Service on Friday morning. When a group of protesters began to boo during Bunurong elder Mark Brown's Welcome to Country, outraged attendees quickly drowned them out with cheers in protest. In a video recorded at the service, one heckler can be heard telling the crowd: 'Australia is for the white man.' Surrounding audience members ordered the heckler to be silent. 'Our son is fighting, mate', one woman said. 'Shut your mouth and show your respects,' another said. The young man smirked before repeating: 'Australia is for the white man.' 'The country was federated on white Australia,' he added. After being accused of being racist, the man said: 'The Anzacs fought for a white Australia. The Anzacs were racist.' Another attendee then told him he was 'disturbing the peace', before a woman yelled: 'There were black diggers at Anzac Cove, mate.' Some time later, he was escorted away from the crowd by two men dressed in military uniforms while attendees applauded. Prominent neo-Nazi figure Jacob Hersant is pictured at the Melbourne Dawn Service where he allegedly interrupted a Welcome to Country with boos Jacob Hersant, a prominent neo-Nazi figure, was allegedly among those loudly booing. 'This is a day for the Anzacs, it's not for Aboriginals,' he told media after the service. Hersant was spoken to by police and escorted from the service and it was understood he did not perform a Nazi salute, despite some reports. A spokesperson for Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia a 26-year-old man from Kensington was directed to leave the area following the disruption. Police have interviewed him for 'offensive behaviour' and will proceed via a summons. Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Hersant was the individual identified by Victoria Police. Meanwhile, WA Police have appealed for information following a lone heckling incident at the King's Park Dawn service on Friday morning. That incident is believed to have involved a single heckler who yelled obscenities during a welcome by Noongar Elder and veteran Di Ryder. A number of political and media figures have joined the Prime Minister in condemning the disruptions, including Sunrise host Natalie Barr who described the Melbourne incident as 'disgusting'. 'Save your protests,' she said. 'We do not care what you are sick of. Today is not the day to share it.'
Daily Mail
22-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
How being famous has backfired badly on a one-time Neighbours star - as he complains: 'Feel shame'
Former Neighbours actor Damien Richardson is not enjoying a surge in renewed fame years after his final appearance on the popular Aussie soap. On Tuesday, Richardson appeared in the Moorabbin Magistrates' Court after being charged under Victoria's anti-Nazi salute laws. Richardson was allegedly filmed doing a Nazi salute to a crowd of far-right activists at an event in Melbourne last year. The actor, who also starred in shows such as Blue Heelers and McLeod's Daughters, was speaking at a National Workers Alliance meeting in September. The alleged act made national headlines at the time, with NWA claiming it stood 'for the preservation of Western culture and identity'. Appearing in court alongside his mother, the court heard Richardson was keen to keep the suburb he resided in a secret due to some unwanted attention. 'Just recently, your honour, Mr Richardson did have posters of him posted outside bus stops in the area to which he lives,' his lawyer told Magistrate Angela Bolger. 'There has been a concerted effort to get Mr Richardson to feel shame by some within that area.' The purported posters asked commuters if they felt comfortable having Richardson 'living next door' to them. It was a request refused by the magistrate, who directed Richardson to appear in court again in June. It is understood Richardson plans to contest the charge of performing the salute. In October, Australian far-right extremist Jacob Hersant, 25, became the first Victorian convicted of intentionally performing the salute in public and chanting 'heil Hitler.' Hersant was sentenced to one month in jail, but was bailed to appeal the decision. Before doing the Nazi salute, which was revealed by ABC's 7.30, Richardson declared that Australia was experiencing 'a war on men'. 'I thought it was a war on Western tradition, Western values … and actually, it's an anti-white male agenda.' It was then that Richardson raised his right arm and alluded to the fact that Hersant was given a one-month jail term for doing a Nazi salute. 'Am I gonna be fined now? I'm gonna go to jail for five years?' Richardson said. 'I mean, really? I mean, this is absurd. This is insane. It's crazy. It's so crazy you can't believe it's even happening.' After Richardson did the salute, which was broadcast live on Facebook, members of the National Socialist Network neo-Nazi group could be heard cheering. Despite his actions and words being filmed, the actor has tried to distance himself from the neo-Nazis he was addressing. Matt Trihey, who organised the Melbourne gathering, said 'there has been a lot of misinformation spoken about the event, Damien, the National Workers Alliance and myself'. 'Neither Damien or I have ever been members of Nazi organisations and we have no connection with the NSN,' he told the ABC. 'I am a free speech advocate and have no control over who purchases online tickets to my events.' Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said he was 'disgusted' at the footage. 'I was shocked enough when I saw the salute, disgusted when I heard the applause,' he said. 'They might think they did it in a private place, but the moment you put things online there's a new legal question on whether it was done publicly, so that will be something our authorities will work through.'
