Latest news with #RSLAustralia
Perth Now
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Vets don't want Welcome to Country on Anzac Day: Dutton
The opposition leader has doubled down on his criticism of Welcome to Country ceremonies, claiming most veterans don't want them held on Anzac Day. Peter Dutton has placed himself in the centre of the debate surrounding their ceremonies after a small group of neo-Nazis heckled during a dawn service in Melbourne. He described Welcome to Country ceremonies as overused, days after Bunurong-Gunditjmara man Uncle Mark Brown was booed and jeered on Anzac Day. "There is a sense across the community that it is overdone," Mr Dutton said during the final leaders' debate of the federal election campaign on Sunday night. He repeated the criticism on Monday, adding that he believed Welcome to Country ceremonies should only happen at very significant events. When asked whether he would consider Anzac Day significant enough, he said: "No." "Listening to a lot of veterans in the space, Anzac Day is about our veterans," Mr Dutton told reporters from the campaign trail. "I think if you are listening to their sentiment, and we are respectful of that sentiment on Anzac Day, I think the majority view would be that they don't want it on that day." RSL Victoria president Robert Webster previously said the actions of the small group were "completely disrespectful" to the Aboriginal community, veterans and the spirit of Anzac Day. "In response, the spontaneous applause from the 50,000-strong crowd attending the service drowned out those who disrupted, and showed the respect befitting of the occasion," Dr Webster said. On its website, RSL Australia says it supports the acknowledgement of Country before official services on Anzac Day "in recognition of Indigenous Australians as the first peoples of Australia". Mr Dutton previously said he would not display the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at press conferences if he becomes prime minister, adding the country should be united under the Australian flag. Labor campaign spokesman Jason Clare suggested right-wing extremists were being allowed to lead the debate on Welcome to Country ceremonies. "This all spawned out of actions of neo-Nazis on dawn services last Friday," he said. A Welcome to Country ceremony was cancelled at a Melbourne Storm NRL game on Friday night following the earlier booing incident. Wurundjeri elder Aunty Joy Murphy Wandin said she was left heartbroken when she was told she no longer needed to perform the ceremony. That decision was later reversed, but she said she was too upset to go on. Aunty Joy, whose father fought in World War I, said on Monday the long-held ceremony had been practised between communities for thousands of years. "It is a matter of respect," she said. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese described the ceremonies as a mark of respect and said it was up to individual organisations to decide whether to include them at events. "People are entitled to their views, but we have the great privilege of sharing this continent with the oldest continuous culture on earth," he said.
SBS Australia
25-04-2025
- Sport
- SBS Australia
What is two-up? The iconic Aussie diggers game only legal to play a few days each year
Since its creation in the mid-19th century, two-up has become a part of folklore among Australian soldiers who played it in the trenches amid the gunfire and artillery of the Gallipoli campaign. The simple game, consisting of a wooden paddle and two coins, captures the playful spirit of Australian diggers in the face of war. Decades later, two-up is still played across the country on Anzac Day in tribute to soldiers who served and died in military operations. But there are restrictions on when you can participate in the iconic game. Part of the appeal of two-up is that it is simple and requires almost no specialised equipment, just a wooden board and two coins. Then, people bet on the result of the coin flip. The people participating also have special names. To play, a match manager known as a ringkeeper or ringie will choose a person as the spinner, who throws two coins into the air off a bit of wood known as a kip. Players, referred to as the school, stand in a ring and bet on whether the coins will fall on both heads, both tails, or one head and one tail The coins must fly three metres into the air, not touch the roof, and have to fall within the ring. Two heads mean the spinner wins, two tails mean the spinner loses their bet and the right to spin. One head and one tail mean the spinner throws again. The ringie calls in the result, and money is then exchanged depending on who won the bet. When the spinner eventually loses, a new person gets a turn to throw the coins, and the game continues. Due to the elements of gambling, playing two-up is largely restricted, with exceptions made for significant events like Anzac Day. Two-up can be played in every state and territory on Friday in venues approved by the respective governments, mainly RSL branches or those with written approval from an RSL branch. Earnings from the game go to the RSL branch or to a nominated charity, and only adults can place bets. In Victoria, two-up can also be played in the seven days leading up to Anzac Day. In NSW, the game is allowed on Victory in the Pacific Day on 15 August and on Remembrance Day afternoon. The only exception to this is in Broken Hill, where the game can be played all year round under a special licence from the NSW government. You can also play a round of two-up at some casinos in Perth, Melbourne and Darwin on Anzac Day. RSL Australia recommends calling your local branch ahead of time to check if they are hosting a game and whether children are allowed on the premises during play.
Perth Now
24-04-2025
- Politics
- Perth Now
Diggers' courage remembered 110 years after Gallipoli
Australians will remember the courage shown by Anzac soldiers at Gallipoli during dawn services, laying of wreaths and marches across the nation. Friday marks the 110th anniversary of Australian and New Zealand soldiers landing before dawn on Turkish shores on April 25, 1915, alongside British, French and Indian troops. More than 8000 Australian soldiers died during the unsuccessful campaign to control the Dardanelles Strait. Dawn services and marches across the nation would honour the enduring contributions of service personnel at Gallipoli and the 110 years since, RSL Australia national president Greg Melick said. "The Gallipoli campaign was the first major military action involving Australian and New Zealand forces," he said. "They held their ground against almost impossible odds for eight months in the ravines and gullies of that rugged battleground, suffering terrible casualties. "They fought with endurance, courage, ingenuity, good humour, and mateship." Governor-General Sam Mostyn, whose father served in the army for four decades, will be the most senior Australian representative at a dawn service at Gallipoli Cove. "As commander-in-chief of the Australian Defence Force, the daughter of a veteran and a proud Australian, it will be a privilege to commemorate my first Anzac Day as Australia's Governor-General at the 110th anniversary of the landing at Gallipoli," she said. Tens of thousands of people are expected to attend events around the nation including a dawn service at the Australian War Memorial. Melbourne's Anzac Day march starts at 8.30am and Sydney will follow at 9am with the annual parade starting in Martin Place and moving through city streets. A parade in Brisbane will bring out thousands of people and in Perth a gunfire breakfast at Government House Gardens is expected to host about 2000 people. The day will turn more festive with rousing roars as two-up, a past time for soldiers on the battlefield, is played at RSLs throughout Australia.
