Anzac Day: Thousands honour Australian veterans at Canberra dawn service
Scott Morrison and Bill Shorten have delivered moving speeches honouring Australia’s veterans as they hit pause on election campaigning, while 35,000 people turned out to pay tribute at the Anzac Day dawn service in Canberra.
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Thirty-five thousand people assembled in the pre-dawn dark to honour Australia’s veterans at the national Anzac Day service in Canberra.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison attended a dawn service in Townsville, while Labor leader Bill Shorten paid tribute in Darwin.
Both leaders have called an election campaign truce on Anzac Day and neither one will make any major announcements today out of respect for the national day of commemoration.
They will face off at a Sky News/Courier Mail People’s Forum in Queensland next Friday, May 3, where they will be questioned by an audience of 100 undecided voters.
Bill Shorten today flew from Darwin back to Melbourne, where he attended the Anzac Day clash at the MCG.
Speaking in Canberra, Victoria Cross recipient Mark Donaldson, who served in Afghanistan, paid tribute to the Anzac spirit and the capacity of ordinary men and women to do extraordinary things in extreme circumstances in his commemorative address.
Corporal Donaldson spoke of the human capacity to fight harder, march further and dig deeper despite overwhelming odds.
“It’s an important legacy we need to uphold … It’s one we need to add to consistently every day in every way we can,” he told reporters after the service.
“The way we can do that is by living a good life, looking after each other while living the values and echoing the actions of those who have gone before us.
“You don’t necessarily have to go away to war, you don’t necessarily have to win a Victoria Cross or do something brave to have courage.
“Courage is inside each and every one of us.”
In his address, Corporal Donaldson recalled New Zealand Victoria Cross recipient Cyril Bassett in particular, who crawled through no man’s land under heavy machine gun fire at Chanuk Bair in Gallipoli to lay a telephone line from the old position to the new.
“We should strive to be worthy of these sacrifices made for us,” he said.
There was a visible security presence at the service, as in previous years, including a sniper and Australian Federal Police.
Australian War Memorial director Brendan Nelson did not comment on whether security had been increased in the wake of an arrest overnight over an alleged Islamic State plot to target the Gallipoli Anzac Day service in retaliation for the Christchurch massacre.
Mr Nelson said all advice from Australia’s intelligence and security agencies had been followed.
SHORTEN SHOWS TRUE COLOURS
Bill Shorten has boldly worn Collingwood colours as he turned up to today’s Anzac Day clash in Melbourne.
The Opposition Leader shook hands with plenty of Magpies fans as he arrived at the MCG, while copping a bit of friendly banter from Essendon supporters.
Mr Shorten, who is a Collingwood fan, wore a black and white scarf and was accompanied by his stepson Rupert.
The Labor leader said he was confident his team would win, but pointed out that Essendon has been playing well.
More than 100,000 AFL fans have packed the MCG this afternoon for the traditional ANZAC Day match up.
‘WHERE’S BOB HAWKE?’: PM’S AWKWARD PUB VISIT
The Prime Minister was greeted at a Townsville pub with a uniquely Australian greeting — an ode to drinking.
Punters at the Australia Hotel cheered Scott Morrison’s entry to the pub with an Australian drinking song.
“He’s a piss pot through and through,” the rowdy Anzac Day crowd sang.
Mr Morrison was not actually drinking at the time.
When he later bought a beer, the pub crowd made a second attempt at the song — but Mr Morrison stuck to sipping his beer.
“Where’s Bob Hawke,” one person asked.
SHORTEN’S AWKWARD ENCOUNTER
Mr Shorten was confronted by a Darwin local who raised concerns with him about fracking when leaving this morning’s dawn service in Darwin.
The Opposition Leader tried to avoid the woman as she asked him questions about his support for the mining practice.
“We can’t have our politicians on a campaign trail announcing that today is not a day for politics when in fact they’re selling out our country,” she said.
“Every day is a day for politics.
“He announced $1.5 billion to fast track fracking in the NT and he’s just walked away.”
POLLIES REMEMBER ANZAC SACRIFICE
Scott Morrison spoke of the impact World War II had on his serviceman grandfather at a dawn service ceremony in Townsville.
The Prime Minister also reflected on recent servicemen who have lost their lives, speaking of the new generation of grieving families that Australians stood behind.
“Our heroes don’t just belong to the past, they live with us today,” Mr Morrison said.
Mr Morrison said his grandfather would not talk to him about his war service.
“Anzac Day was part of the calendar of his life,” Mr Morrison said.
“He would meet with his mates, march at the beachside parade.
“His reflections of war were private and took place every day.”
Following the dawn service, Mr Morrison attended a breakfast, where he caught some guests by surprise.
Clay Brown wasn’t expecting to see the PM turn up to the Townsville RSL.
But he was happy to pose for a photo with Scott Morrison once he realised who was behind him.
“It was a surprise, I was scoffing bacon in my mouth,” Mr Brown said.
His smart daughter, Ella-Rose, knew who the PM was without prompting.
“He’s the prime minister,” she said.
The Browns attended the Dawn Service this morning at Anzac Park in Townsville.
Mr Brown was deployed to the Middle East in 2016 as part of Operation Accordion.
Labor leader Bill Shorten addressed Darwin’s dawn service, declaring the greatest legacy of Anzac is the “free country we call home”.
Thousands gathered at the service on the city’s Esplanade to pay tribute to the men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.
Addressing the crowd, Mr Shorten said the country commemorated the courage and service of every Anzac generation, making mention of every major conflict Australia has participated in.
“The true memorial, the most powerful monument to those who have served and suffered is all around us,” Mr Shorten said.
“The greatest legacy of Anzac is the free country we call home.
“We can live our lives because of Australians who gave theirs and because of those who serve us still.”
Mr Shorten said the peace we live in the and the “democracy we vote in” was a testament to those who have served the country.
He laid a wreath alongside Northern Territory Chief Minister Michael Gunner.
Following his address, Mr Shorten spent the morning speaking with veterans in Darwin, including 93-year-old Austin Asche who served during World War II.
The Darwin local spent a few minutes talking with Mr Shorten, later telling reporters he enjoyed the Labor leader’s speech during this morning’s dawn service.
Mr Asche served as a radar operator during World War II, based in the southwest Pacific, and was Chief Justice of the Northern Territory’s Supreme Court during the 1980s.
He said Anzac Day was the most important day for every Australian.
“If you don’t honour Anzac Day in some way recognise it … then you’re not an Australian,” he said.
“It’s embedded in us. It makes us Australian.”
Originally published as Anzac Day: Thousands honour Australian veterans at Canberra dawn service
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