Category Archives: Anzac Day

News live: thousands gather in capital cities for Anzac Day commemorations; no tsunami threat to Australia from Indonesia quake

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‘Every death at Gallipoli was like a sapling torn out of the earth,’ Albanese says in first dawn service address as PM. Follow the day’s news live

Symbolic sea burial held at Gold Coast dawn service

At the Anzac Day dawn service at Currumbin on the Gold Coast, the local surf life-saving club held a symbolic burial at sea.

Our two countries already work closely together. William has had a long association with Australia. He’s the chair of our naval expert advisory panel that’s already providing advice on our naval acquisitions, and even when he was a serving officer in the US navy, he provided a critical role, he played a critical role in supporting our efforts, for example, he was instrumental in improving the Collins Class submarine to make it the best diesel-powered submarine in the world.

…We do have Australians involved with that review. It will be a short, sharp review, just to check that we got the right structure of our surface fleet to complement the acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines.

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Australia news live: defence strategic review ‘a cannibalisation of army mobility’, Hastie says; Victorian jockey dies after race fall

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Review calls for ADF to develop ability to precisely strike targets at longer range and to develop stronger network. Follow the day’s news live

Plibersek v Joyce on Newspoll

In their regular spot on Sunrise, environment minister Tanya Plibersek and Coalition frontbencher Barnaby Joyce weighed in on those Newspoll results.

They’re very strong support numbers, and I tell you the reason is not based on polling but what people tell me when I’m out around the country.

People tell me that they’re pleased to see a government that is just getting on with the job, doing what we promised and they’re impressed that the prime minister is just sticking with what he said he’d do.

We don’t have an election tomorrow and that’s a good thing.

A lot of people are starting to focus now on issues such as the voice and saying, “I don’t feel comfortable with this.”

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Veterans praise number of young people at Melbourne’s Anzac Day services

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Estimated crowd of 50,000 listen to Last Post at Shrine of Remembrance after Covid restrictions lifted

For Vietnam veteran Peter Liefman, seeing the crowd’s smiling faces made leading the Anzac Day march through Melbourne even more special.

The 74-year-old, who was a national serviceman in 1971, was chosen to lead Monday’s march along St Kilda Road through to the Shrine of Remembrance with fellow Vietnam veterans Gary Taylor and David Grierson.

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‘About time’: Māori Battalion veteran welcomes New Zealand effort to issue unclaimed war medals

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Defence force works to match medals with families of up to 500 men who served in decorated unit during second world war

New Zealand is working to get medals to the rightful homes of up to 500 men from the country’s Māori Battalion, who were not properly recognised for their service.

The Māori Battalion, also known as the “28th”, was one of New Zealand’s most-decorated units during the second world war, fighting in Italy, Egypt, Crete and north Africa, but many of the men who served never received their medals.

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Anzac Day commemorated; ABC reviewing presenter’s social media activity – as it happened

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Deputy Labor leader says Chinese Solomon Islands base would make Australia ‘less safe’; Anzac Day services and marches return for the first time since pandemic began; Peter Dutton compares events in Ukraine to ‘the 1930s’; ABC presenter Fauziah Ibrahim under social media review; at least 17 Covid deaths recorded. This blog is now closed

Sticking with Brendan O’Connor for a moment, the shadow defence spokesperson says Labor would have “grave concerns” if a Chinese military base were established in Solomon Islands.

This comes after Scott Morrison yesterday said the establishment of a base there would be a “red line”, without saying how his government would actually respond, with O’Connor saying it was just “post-facto rhetoric”:

We understand what the prime minister says by that. But, really, it’s post-facto rhetoric. We need to see better investment and better engagement in the region ... rather than react after the fact.

Given the change in tone and rhetoric and words used by the prime minister, we will seek a briefing from the government. We’ve been getting updates all the way through, and we appreciate that.

It was a smaller sum. [The government’s plan] would go no way to provide support for veterans. It would not increase the frontline staff required to respond to their needs. It would do in no way enough to support those people who’ve put themselves in harm’s way.

People are waiting for days, weeks, months just for some of the more simple applications and claims.

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Anzac Day: health authorities urge Covid-19 precautions at gatherings

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With the return of full services after two Covid-disrupted years, officials advise caution despite easing of restrictions

Health officials are urging Australians to take Covid-19 precautions at Anzac Day commemorations despite restrictions easing in most states and territories.

With many jurisdictions preparing for the return of full-scale Anzac Day services after two Covid-disrupted years, Victoria’s health department has shared risk-mitigation tips.

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Anzac Day 2021: New Zealanders once again gather to honour the fallen

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After last year’s socially distanced Anzac Day, crowds returned to dawn services around the country

A year after Covid cancelled all services, New Zealanders rose to acknowledge its servicemen and women on Anzac Day.

Last year the pandemic and level four lockdown left New Zealanders standing at their letterboxes in a socially distant tribute. The prime minister, Jacinda Ardern, was joined by her partner and father at the bottom of Wellington’s Premier House driveway, listening to the Last Post silently before returning to the official residence.

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Prince William receives traditional Māori greeting in New Zealand

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Duke of Cambridge and Jacinda Ardern press noses as part of hongi during visit to honour those affected by the Christchurch attacks

Prince William has joined Jacinda Ardern at Anzac commemorations in New Zealand in the wake of the Christchurch mosque attacks.

The pair shared an intimate hongi [Māori nose press] and espoused the values of freedom, democracy, and peace where they attended a service in Auckland before travelling to Christchurch to meet with survivors.

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Scott Morrison says reports of Isis plot to target Anzac Day Gallipoli events ‘inconclusive’

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Turkish police said they had arrested a Syrian national who was planning retaliation for New Zealand mosque attack

The Australian prime minister, Scott Morrison, has cast doubt on a possible plot to target Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli despite the arrest of a man with suspected links to Islamic State by Turkish police.

The suspect, a Syrian national, was arrested after a police operation in Osmaniye and was among several Isis members detained.

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New Zealand cuts dozens of Anzac events over Christchurch terror risk

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Total number of gatherings in Auckland reduced from 84 to 26 in wake of mosque shootings

More than 50 Anzac events and parades have been cut in New Zealand’s largest city at the request of police, as the country’s terror risk remains high in the wake of the deadly Christchurch mosque attacks.

Police have asked Auckland Returned Serviceman’s Associations (RSA) to “consolidate” their events, with the total number reduced from 84 last year to 26 this year, allowing officers to better protect large crowds in attendance.

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