Indigenous leaders have condemned individuals who booed welcome to country speeches at Anzac Day dawn services across Australia, with an army captain describing racism as a cancer. The disruptions occurred at services in Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth on Saturday morning, following a campaign by the group Fight for Australia, formerly known as March for Australia, which has previously organized major anti-immigration rallies.
Uncle Jack Pearson's Response
Uncle Jack Pearson, a Yimithurr man and a captain in the Australian army, stated that racism in any form is a cancer to society. He acknowledged the importance of free speech and protest but emphasized that it must be respectful, particularly on a day as significant as Anzac Day. Pearson noted that welcomes and acknowledgments of country are solemn events recognizing First Nations people and their contributions to modern Australia. He stressed that First Nations people have been present since before the concept of Australia existed and that racism disrupts the common humanity of the nation, contrary to the Anzac spirit.
Marcia Langton's Condemnation
Marcia Langton, a laureate professor of Indigenous studies at the University of Melbourne, described the booing as a despicable and ignorant moral crime. Writing in Guardian Australia, she called for those who intentionally disrupted services to face bans. Langton suggested that disruptors should be named, photographed, and banned from all future Anzac Day services, drawing a parallel to how the AFL deals with disruptive racists. She argued that police forces should similarly handle such individuals.
Incidents Across Australia
At Sydney's dawn service in Martin Place, a small but noisy group shouted and jeered as Uncle Ray Minniecon delivered his acknowledgment of country. After the disruption was quelled, thousands applauded and cheered in support of Minniecon. Minniecon, whose ancestry includes the Kabi-Kabi and Gurang-Gurang peoples of Queensland, noted that despite laws to deter such behavior, some people remain lawless. A veteran himself, Minniecon's grandfather served in the Light Horse Brigade, and he helped start the annual Coloured Diggers event in Redfern to honor Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander veterans.
In Melbourne, a similar disruption was drowned out by cheers as Uncle Mark Brown, a Bunurong and Gunditjmara man, delivered his welcome. At the King's ceremony in Perth, Whadjuk Noongar elder and veteran Aunty Di Ryder was booed during her address but also received a loud round of applause. The RSL WA chief executive, Stephen Barton, condemned the disruption as one of the most disgraceful things he had ever heard. Adelaide also reported booing at Anzac Day commemorations.
Political and Legal Responses
South Australian Deputy Premier Kyam Maher, an Aboriginal man of Indigenous Tasmanian heritage, described the booing as deeply unfortunate. He noted that being welcomed to country is a tradition practiced by Aboriginal people for tens of thousands of years. A 24-year-old man was arrested for an alleged act of nuisance at Sydney's dawn service and charged with committing a nuisance on a war memorial. He was bailed to appear in court in early June. New South Wales police confirmed that other people were moved on from the service.
Fight for Australia had encouraged supporters to contact local RSL branches to request that welcomes to country be excluded from Anzac Day ceremonies. On Friday, the group posted online asking whether people would boo the welcome to country this year, alongside a video of Melbourne's 2025 Anzac Day ceremony where Brown was booed by members of the National Socialist Network.
