Nation’s leaders condemn ‘disgraceful’ Anzac Day acts, with Perth and Melbourne services marred by hecklers

Anthony Albanese has condemned disruptions during Indigenous acknowledgments at solemn Anzac Day dawn services in Perth and Melbourne as “beyond contempt” and an “act of low cowardice.” An Acknowledgement to Country at the State Memorial at Kings Park was interrupted by a man in the crowd yelling, “What about white men? They died for this land. We don’t need . . . acknowledgement to country. This land belongs to the white man.” The outburst caused WA Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Veterans and Services president Di Ryder, who was delivering the acknowledgement, to pause briefly as others in the crowd told the man to shut up. Meanwhile, in Melbourne, a group of far-right men booed and heckled as Aboriginal elder Mark Brown did the Welcome to Country, other members of the crowd hitting back by trying to drown out the shouts with applause. Jacob Hersant — a self-declared neo-nazi and the first person in Victoria to be convicted of doing a nazi salute — was arrested and escorted from the Shrine of Remembrance after the ceremony. Victoria Police have confirmed a 26-year-old Kensington man was being investigated over the incident. The Prime Minister said there was “no place in Australia for what occurred.” “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,” Mr Albanese said. “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 in the cause of peace. “We honour all who have volunteered, sacrificed, and those who have died for our nation, including First Nations Australians.” His condemnation was echoed by other leaders across the nation. Opposition Leader Peter Dutton, after attending an Anzac Day service in Samford, Queensland, said “to see any instance, whatsoever, of neo-nazis in our country is just a disgrace.” Mr Dutton said neo-nazis were a “stain on our national fabric” and “not part of the Australian culture” especially when commemorating the gallantry and sacrifice of Aussie diggers. “We have a proud Indigenous heritage in this country, and we should be proud to celebrate it as part of today. Indigenous Australians played a very significant part and still do today in the ranks of the Australian Defence Force,” he said. Premier Roger Cook described the Kings Park incident as “totally inappropriate, totally disrespectful, disgusting.” “This is a solemn occasion,” he said. “It’s one day we should come together as a community and for someone to use it to make a political point and in that disrespectful way is really quite unacceptable.” WA Police have launched an investigation into the incident, urging anyone with information to come forward. “Bystanders asked the man to refrain from yelling, and no further disturbance occurred,” a police spokeswoman said. “The man left the scene shortly afterwards. “The Anzac Day service is a solemn commemoration, and any disorderly behaviour at such commemorations will not be tolerated by police.” The man’s identity is unknown to both WA Police and the Returned and Services League of WA. RSL WA president Duncan Anderson said the State branch added Acknowledgement to Country to their main dawn service in 2020, with it encouraged but ultimately up to sub-branches to decide if they would follow suit. The acknowledgement is usually read by the MC during the Kings Park service, however, this year marked the first time an Indigenous veteran was available and willing to conduct the ritual. “When we devised a policy and position, we did so with Aboriginal veterans in mind first and foremost, we took a lead from them,” Mr Anderson said. “That lead was that adopting an Acknowledgement of Country was entirely appropriate. “It’s not a Welcome to Country, it’s an Acknowledgement of Country (which can be delivered by any person, Indigenous or non-Indigenous), that’s what the veterans have asked for. “Our policy in WA is that if a Aboriginal veteran wants to, they’re invited to give it.” Mr Anderson added Anzac Day was about being “inclusive and bringing people together, not about division”. “A veteran is a veteran, if you’ve served Australia, you’ve served Australia. Service transcends race, sexuality, gender or beliefs,” he said. Mr Anderson said there was no indication that the Perth incident was connected to the incident in Melbourne. However, it left WA veteran Robert Lambert-Barker — who served for 12 years — questioning whether the Aboriginal acknowledgement was necessary on Anzac Day. “It’s not about anyone else. A Welcome to Country . . . I support it but let’s have our days, when we have our days,” he said. “This is Anzac Day, just leave it as Anzac Day, is my opinion.” Referring to the Melbourne incident, both RSL Victoria and Premier Jacinta Allan slammed the right-wing protesters as “disrespectful”. At the service, two men confronted a Nine News television journalist and aired their distaste for the tradition. “Why can they politicise it? Make it about white guilt and Aboriginals? This is about the Anzacs,” one man said. “The reality is we voted ‘no’. People are over the Welcome to Country. How many times do we have to feel guilt.” Another man, wearing a suit adorned with five military medals, echoed the sentiments in a separate filmed confrontation. He claimed to the same reporter that military colleagues hadn’t attended the dawn service because they didn’t want to hear the Welcome to Country. “Is it the right time and place? As a veteran, I don’t think it is. Our friends died for this country, for this soil — for them to be welcomed, is a slap in the face. You need to see it from a different perspective,” he said. At the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, the dawn service was interrupted by a pro-Palestine protester — who used a quiet moment at the solemn commemoration to yell, “Free Palestine.” Since the failed Voice to Parliament referendum, the role of the Welcome to Country has come under increasing scrutiny. It has also become an election issue, with Shadow Indigenous affairs minister Jacinta Nampijinpa Price vowing to scrap spending on them if elected.