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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
- SBS Australia
SBS News in Easy English 25 April 2025
Listen to Australian and world news, and follow trending topics with . Dawn services have taken place across the country to mark Anzac Day, 110 years after Australian and New Zealand troops landed at Gallipoli during World War I. In Canberra, Australian Defence Force Personnel have read excerpts from the letters and diaries of Australian who have experienced the realities of war firsthand. Mick Bainbridge offered the Ode of Remembrance at the service. "They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. We will remember them. Lest we forget." Heckling at this morning's Melbourne Dawn Service has been widely condemned. Boos had come from the crowd as Bunurong elder Mark Brown spoke during the service, held at the Victorian capital's Shine of Remembrance. "Welcome everybody to my father's country. Beautiful Bunurong country. But before we do that we pay our acknowledgments and our respects." RSL Victoria has said the heckling was completely out of keeping with the intention of the solemn event. Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan has said it was disrespectful and dishonoured the sacrifice of the men and women who fought for their country. "For a Neo-Nazi to come along and show that level of disrespect and dishonour to every man and woman who has served our nation with pride honour and dignity. I absolutely condemn this behaviour." Australian women who served as nurses in the Vietnam War have been honoured with a permanent memorial for the first time. The Morven Historical Precinct in central Queensland is a collection from the Australian War Memorial that captures the work and daily life of Australian nurses who tended soldiers in Vietnam. Curator of the Vietnam Nurses Memorial Annabelle Brayley says the role of women in wars is only recently starting to receive attention. "Most people don't know about them. I think most people are starting to learn about the World War I and World War II nurses in a way that they didn't before, and the Boer War and Crimea nurses. But the nurses who went to Vietnam have just flown completely under the radar." A woman has been charged with the alleged sexual abuse of residents at the Sydney aged care facility where she worked. New South Wales Police allege the 46 year old recorded the assaults against residents at the home in Grasmere in Sydney's Macarthur region. The alleged assaults of five men and two women happened over a few weeks in August 2024. The New South Wales government says it has full confidence police will find the person responsible for the fatal shooting of a teenager at a Newcastle beach. Police Minister Yasmin Catley has called the shooting on Wednesday of an 18 year-old man in the Bar Beach carpark a random incident. No-one has yet been arrested over the shooting. But Ms Catley says police are conducting a thorough investigation. "The police has stood up a strikeforce immediately, and we will throw every resource at that, including the state's crime squad and a homicide team. They will be participating with our local detectives here in making sure we find the perpetrator of this terrible incident that we experienced." New South Wales authorities say there is little chance of recovering millions of dollars acquired by corrupt former MP Eddie Obeid. $30 million was made from the corrupt licence tender process into a coal exploration licence at the Obeid family farm in the Hunter Valley. But Crime Commissioner Michael Barnes says a second investigation into the viability of recovering what remains of the money has concluded asset confiscation proceedings would be non-viable. An experimental aircraft made by an Australian-based company has crashed at a military base near the coast of Virginia. US Air Force Airman Donnell Ramsey says the incident occurred at the Joint Base Langley-Eustis in the city of Hampton. The National Transportation Safety Board has said on X it's investigating the accident, without providing more details.
1News
25-04-2025
- General
- 1News
Melbourne Anzac ceremony interrupted by heckles, boos
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 in Australia. Hushed whispers 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. 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. The interruption was soon drowned out by louder applause from the crowd. The incident was quickly condemned by RSL Victoria, which said the heckling was completely out of keeping with the intention of the solemn event. Master of ceremonies Justin Smith paid tribute to fallen protectors and the sacrifice they made for the nation, which still carries their memories in its blood and in its story. "It's dark and when the sun finally does appear, it's over," he said. "Yet we're still here by the tens of thousands. We're here with an understanding of what has been done for us and to honour the people who have done it." Victorian Governor Margaret Gardner told the story of Thomas Frank Cahir, from the regional town of Yendon near Ballarat, who would travel to Melbourne to complete his studies. But instead of sitting his exams, he found himself in the trenches of Gallipoli in October 1914. Carrying injured mates from hilltops as a barrage of shrapnel rained from the skies, Cahir would ultimately survive the bloodshed. But even when the guns fell silent, he continued for more than two years searching for and identifying thousands of dead countrymen in the fields of Europe. On his return to Australia — seven years after he left — his friends, family and home had changed. His internal battle ended the story, seven years after his return. "We sometimes reflect on war as a series of battles with clear beginnings and ends," Gardner said. "But the impacts of conflict continue to reverberate long after the cacophony of war fades into silence." Service men and women and their descendants will later march from Princes Bridge near Federation Square to the shrine before commemorations end with a wreath-laying service.
Otago Daily Times
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Otago Daily Times
Melbourne Anzac service marred by 'abhorrent' neo-Nazi jeering
Veterans and their families marched to the sound of brass and public applause as they paraded proudly with their medals on a day marred by neo-Nazis gatecrashing a sombre Anzac dawn service. People lined the streets of Melbourne's CBD on Friday to clap for servicemen and women, veterans and their families as they basked in sunshine and made their way towards the Shrine of Remembrance. Hushed whispers had earlier filled the air as 50,000 stood under the cloak of pre-dawn darkness, illuminated only by the crescent moon hanging overhead and a deep red glow from the war memorial. They were there to commemorate 110 years since Australian and New Zealand soldiers rowed towards the desolate shores of Gallipoli during World War I. But the peace was broken during Bunurong elder Mark Brown's Welcome to Country, when heckles and boos reverberated from the crowd. Self-described neo-Nazi Jacob Hersant and his small group shielded themselves in darkness as they shouted "we don't want to be welcomed" and "this is our country" when speakers thanked traditional owners. Their interruptions were drowned out by louder applause from the crowd before police officers ordered him to leave. Hersant was later interviewed for alleged offensive behaviour and police said he could face charges. The events drew widespread condemnation, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese saying the hecklers should face the full force of the law. "A neo-Nazi disrupting Anzac Day is abhorrent, unAustralian and disgraceful," he said. Premier Jacinta Allan condemned the hateful act of disrespect to all service people, while RSL Victoria president Robert Webster said it was completely out of keeping with the intention of the solemn event. "The actions of a handful were completely disrespectful to the Aboriginal community, veterans, and the spirit of Anzac Day," Dr Webster said. The ugly incident was a momentary blip in a moving and vital event for many people. For Sarah Byres and her son Matthew, it was their first dawn ceremony at the shrine with her late father's war medals proudly worn on their chests. Her father served in the Navy as a 17-year-old across multiple conflicts, including in Malta, Italy and the D-Day landings, facing bombings and surviving raining bullets. "When the war ended and they celebrated, they handed everyone a tot of rum, but he was underage so he wasn't allowed to have it," Ms Byres said. "He was under 21, but he could go and fight." Wearing reminders of their time serving in a military hospital in East Timor, friends Nick Flood and Kon K came to the commemorations to honour those who had sacrificed. Mr Flood's grandfather also served in the Second World War. "It's an opportunity to think about my grandfather and try and understand what the times were like for him," he said. Victorian Governor Margaret Gardner told the story of Thomas Frank Cahir, who was recognised for his valiant war efforts but also his tragic end, when he took his own life after returning to Australia. "The impacts of conflict continue to reverberate long after the cacophony of war fades into silence," she said.
Daily Mail
25-04-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Natalie Barr loses it live on air as she says what many are thinking about boos at Anzac Day ceremony
Sunrise host Nat Barr has slammed those who booed Welcome to Country at Melbourne 's Anzac Day Dawn Service. Thousands of people had turned out in the city's quiet, pre-dawn darkness on Friday to commemorate those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. But it was a group of between six and ten people whose heckles and boos during Bunurong elder Mark Brown's Welcome to Country who cast a shadow over what was supposed to be a touching commemoration. Sunrise's Nat Barr strongly condemned the behaviour, calling it 'disgusting' and saying she didn't care if people were tired of 'Welcome to Country' ceremonies. 'Save your protests. 'We do not care what you are sick of. Today is not the day to share it.' The small group's voices were picked up by microphones and loudspeakers during the Welcome to Country, clearly audible to the hushed crowd and broadcast media. 'It's our country!' one yelled. 'We don't have to be welcomed,' screamed another. The boos and shouts lasted the entire three minutes of the address, with Mr Brown never seeming to waver. Victorian Governor Margaret Gardner delivered the official Anzac Day address after, which acknowledged Aboriginal Australians - prompting further boos. 'How many more? This is s***,' one man reportedly shouted. A woman then shouted 'always was, always will be' - before the crowd erupted with applause and helped drown out the disquiet. Ms Barr was not alone in her disgust. Politicians including Defence Minister Richard Marles, Opposition Leader Peter Dutton and Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan unleashed on the small group. RSL Victoria also said the heckling was completely out of keeping with the intention of the solemn event. 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. It is understood he did not perform a Nazi salute, despite some reports. Victoria Police said they had 'identified a 26-year-old man from Kensington in relation to the behaviour'. 'He has subsequently been interviewed for offensive behaviour and police will proceed via summons,' they added. 'The male has been directed to leave the Shrine of Remembrance.'' Anzac Day marks the moment thousands of Australian and New Zealand soldiers rowed towards the desolate shores of Gallipoli at half light during World War I. Over 600 were killed on April 25, 1915, alone, with nearly 9,000 Australians and almost 3,000 New Zealanders killed during the bloody Gallipoli campaign. A Welcome to Country is a traditional ceremony performed by Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander elders to formally welcome visitors to their land and to give their blessing for events taking place on their traditional lands
