‘Hope war will one day be done’: Leaders speak on Anzac Day

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has honoured the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who fought for Australia in his Anzac Day message.

Anthony Albanese lays a wreath at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra on Anzac Day in 2002. Picture: AAP

Anthony Albanese was due to use his Dawn Service speech to say Australian veterans are owed “something more than just gratitude”, with some of them “facing battles within”.

And Peter Dutton was due to pay “particular tribute” to the “under-acknowledged” Australians who served and died in Korea and Vietnam.

The Prime Minister, at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, was set to hark back to those “first Anzacs” and the “collective act of remembrance, reflection and gratitude” we carry out each year. But he was also due to add Australia must do more than be “grateful”.

“Many did come home only to face another battle within – a battle that, tragically, is not always won. If we are to truly honour our veterans, we owe them something more than just gratitude,” he was due to say.

“Just as they stepped up for us, we must step up for them.”

He was also due to say not all Australians were honoured equally: “While so much has changed in warfare since, the great character of Australians at war has not. Yet it must be acknowledged that we have not always honoured those who have fought in our name as well as we should.

“Likewise, we must acknowledge the truth that Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people who donned the khaki fought harder for Australia than Australia was sometimes willing to fight for them. Yet we learn, and we keep taking steps forward together.”

Chief of the Defence Force General Angus Campbell was due to acknowledge the efforts of Anzacs in 2023 in Britain providing training to members of the armed forces of Ukraine.

The Opposition Leader was due to recognise the negative attention that the wars in Korea and Vietnam had received.

“To this day, the Korean War can appear as a mere blip on the historical radar, receiving less attention than it should, given the proximate storm of the Second World War,” he was due to say.

“To this day, narratives of shame and controversy continue to colour the Vietnam War – such was the enduring influence of the anti-war sentiment and protests of the time. But our veterans deserve much better. Our long dead deserve much better.”