Politics put aside as leaders pay respect on Anzac Day
Andrew Brown and Tess Ikonomou |
From the cold and mist of Canberra to pouring rain of Brisbane, the two men hoping to lead Australia have paused to pay their respects on Anzac Day.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese marked the day at the Australian War Memorial, while Opposition Leader Peter Dutton went to a commemoration in his electorate of Dickson in Brisbane.
The prime minister read a dedication at the Canberra service, saying the 25,000 who gathered before dawn ought to think of those who went to battle but did not come home.
“We wish to be worthy of their great sacrifice,” Mr Albanese said.
“Let us therefore once more dedicate ourselves to the ideals for which they died.
“As the dawn is even now about to pierce the night, so let their memory inspire us to work for the coming new light into the dark places of the world.”
The prime minister attended the service with his fiancee, Jodie Haydon.
The service was briefly interrupted by an attendee who yelled “free Palestine” before the national anthem was played, with one heckler telling the protester to “kick a landmine”.
For most of the service, it was only the sounds of bird calls emanating around the memorial that could be heard among the bugle calls and bagpipe laments.
It was important to take time out of the flurry of an election campaigning to honour Australia’s defence forces, 110 years after the Gallipoli landings, Mr Albanese said.
“We contemplate the debt we owe them – those who finally came home, their hearts reshaped by all they had seen, and those who tragically never did,” Mr Albanese said.
Mr Dutton marked the day with a dawn service at Kallangur, in northern Brisbane, alongside his wife Kirilly.
Hundreds of people attended the service, where the opposition leader and his wife laid a wreath to commemorate the sacrifice made by Australian troops.
“Barely a city or town, a suburb or street, a community or citizen was unscathed in some way by the catastrophe of that all-encompassing conflict,” Mr Dutton said.
“We particularly express our gratitude to the one million Australians who served and served with great honour. We honour the 39,000 Australians who gave their lives.”
The opposition leader later attended a second service nearby.
AAP
