Anzac bungle: Morrison saves dawn service

Officials consulted French mayors but kept Australian ex-service groups in the dark about cancelling the dawn service.

Minister for Veterans’ Affairs Darren Chester. Picture Kym Smith

Government officials consulted French mayors but kept Australian ex-service groups in the dark over a decision to cancel the Villers-Bretonneux Anzac Day dawn service, in a bungle seized on by Nationals MPs to attack Veterans Affairs Minister Darren Chester.

A close ally of Nationals leader and Deputy Prime Minister ­Michael McCormack, Mr Chester accepted full responsibility for the stuff-up yesterday, after Scott Morrison was forced to intervene to reverse the Department of Veterans Affairs’ decision to replace the dawn service with a 10am ­service.

The Australian was told French mayors advised the ­department a later service would be better ­attended. Mr Chester had been aware of the change of service time last month but did not stop it until The Australian reported exclusively on the decision yesterday, prompting the Prime Minister’s swift ­response.

Nationals MPs who have been agitating against Mr McCormack’s leadership privately questioned how Mr Chester could make such a “bonkers” decision.

“They’ve got no political radar,” one MP said. Mr Chester said it was now apparent to him that Australian ex-service organisations were not properly consulted. “It’s appropriate we conduct a dawn service this year. There must be further consultation before any changes are considered,” he said.

“We’re very respectful of the fact we conduct these services on foreign soil and we like to work very closely with the local authorities before any decisions are made … The DVA goes to great lengths to conduct commemorative events that are respectful of the service and sacrifice of Australian men and women and no offence was ever intended by the planned changes, in fact quite the ­opposite.”

Mr Morrison declared the dawn service would go ahead as usual after he spoke to Mr Chester, adding the veterans community in Australia would be consulted.

“I believe the dawn service should continue in its current form and I’ve made that very clear to the minister this morning,” Mr Morrison told ABC radio. “I understand that the Villers-Bretonneux service, the dawn element of that is different to what it is at Gallipoli, I mean it was a dawn landing in Gallipoli, but that said, there is a tradition that has developed in recent times about that service in Villers-Bretonneux and I want to ensure the integrity of that is kept because the people I care most about on this is our veterans and how they feel about it.”   

Nationals MP Keith Pitt said Mr Morrison had made the right decision to step in. Former ­Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce said: “The purpose of the dawn service is commemoration and an ­acknowledgment of how significant a person is to you — you’re prepared to get out of bed for them.”

Australian War Memorial ­director Brendan Nelson was grateful Mr Morrison and Mr Chester reversed the decision so quickly and backed an idea the minister was said to be considering to have two Villers-Bretonneux services on Anzac Day — one at dawn and one later in the morning.

“That’s sensible and I’d be surprised if there was any opposition,” he said. “We have immense respect for the French, we have a bond that was forged in bloody sacrifice in France in World War I. Our memorial at Villers-Bretonneux stands on land gifted to us by France. In the end Anzac ceremonies are by Australians and primarily for Australians.”