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West Australian ministers and RSL WA members have called out the “disgusting and disrespectful acts” of a small group, who attended the state’s Anzac Day dawn service on Saturday morning and yelled out during the proceedings.
The hecklers called out as Di Ryder, army veteran and Noongar elder, read out the Welcome to Country.
RSL WA chief executive Stephen Barton, who was emceeing the event, stood up after the disruption and called the behaviour “one of the most disgraceful things I’ve ever heard”.
His statement was met by applause from the crowd.
“To the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, we will continue to acknowledge country, we will not be bullied,” he said.
At a press conference after the service, WA Premier Roger Cook took the opportunity to also call out the “disgusting and disrespectful acts of a very small number of people”.
“Anzac Day is a day that we come together. We come together as a sense of unity and with a sense of strength and resilience,” he said.
“For anyone to disrespect one of our elders and a former veteran themselves is just disgusting and disrespectful.”
RSL WA state president Duncan Anderson said they were “cretins”.
“[They] are entitled to their own views. Ironically, that’s what we serve for to uphold the freedom of speech and democracy,” he said.
“But everyone just needs to realise that Anzac Day, particularly the dawn service, is a politics-free zone.
“It’s about commemorating those who have sacrificed and served, and people just need to shelve their opinions for a couple of minutes and just behave themselves.”
He said Di Ryder was a friend and that she had shown courage by continuing her speech and ignoring the calls, labelling the support of the crowd as heartwarming.
“Di Ryder is a proud veteran, and not only did they disrespect her heritage, they disrespected the fact that she’s a veteran, and that’s disgusting on Anzac Day,” Anderson said.
Defence Industries and Veterans Minister Paul Papalia has announced the launch of two new programs to support WA veterans.
The state government has committed $400,000 to fund 80 veteran-focused scholarships over next four years, to help veterans upskill and prepare for employment opportunities in WA’s defence industry.
And $1.3 million in Anzac Day Trust grants are now available, to support WA organisations to deliver essential initiatives and services that respond to the veteran’s community needs.
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Holly Thompson is a journalist with WAtoday, specialising in education and the environment.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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