Man to be charged for booing at Welcome to Country ceremony

A man is expected to be charged with offensive behaviour after a group including a “known neo-Nazi” booed and heckled during the welcome to country at Anzac Day dawn ceremonies in Melbourne and Perth.

A small group of people booed and yelled throughout the welcome delivered by Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown at the 5:30am service at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance.

Victoria police said they interviewed a 26-year-old Kensington man for offensive behaviour and directed him to leave the Shrine of Remembrance. They intend to proceed with a summons and expect the man will be charged, a spokesperson said.

The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, slammed what she called a “hateful disruption”, as did RSL Victoria’s president, Robert Webster.

“[They] were completely disrespectful to veterans and the spirit of Anzac Day [but] the applause of everybody else attending drowned it out and showed the respect befitting of the occasion,” Webster said.

https://www.theguardian.com/news/2025/apr/25/welcome-to-country-booing-melbourne-anzac-day-dawn-service-ntwnfb