Sunrise’s Nat Barr has blasted protesters who disrupted Melbourne’s solemn Anzac Day ceremony at the city’s Shrine of Remembrance.
Booing and heckling rang out across the Shrine of Remembrance in Melbourne during the Welcome to Country, in protest of the welcome being done at the event.
Jacob Hersant, a self-declared neo-Nazi and the first person in Victoria to be convicted for performed the Nazi salute, was seen being led away from the shrine by police.
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On Friday, Barr blasted the actions, saying it was not a time to protest.
“That is disgusting ... Save your protests,” Barr said, condemning the behaviour.
“Today is not the day.”
Just moments earlier, Sunrise’s Melbourne reporter Teegan Dolling was speaking about the interruptions, as Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown was paying his respects to the traditional owners of the land.
“Boo. Boo. What about the Anzacs?” the heckler yelled.
Similar sentiments came from several crowd members at other moments throughout the morning, as various speakers took the stage.
A group of about six to eight men interrupted the ceremony.
They were standing close to the front of the crowd, so their voices were picked up by microphones and could be heard over speakers.
Dolling explained the hecklers left a number of people at the ceremony somewhat startled.
“It was a bit startling. It is not something I have ever heard at a Dawn Service before. Speaking to a few people inside currently underway up the hill there, say it was quite concerning,” Dolling said.
“There is a huge police presence here this morning. The Dawn Service continued. It has been a touching service, as it always with Margaret Gardner making wonderful remarks about the diggers.”
The man can also be heard attempting to justify his comments by saying his beliefs were shared by Australia’s diggers, declaring “the Anzacs were racist”.
He can be seen smirking in the footage as shocked crowd members attempted to silence him, calling him “ignorant” and telling him to “shut up” and “show some respect”.
Opposition leader Peter Dutton later slammed the stunt.
“We have a proud Indigenous heritage in this country and we should be proud to celebrate it as part of today and we should always remember too and remind ourselves as we did at the Opera House last night that Indigenous Australians played a very significant part and still do today in the ranks of the Australian Defence Force,” Dutton said after an Anzac Day service in Queensland.
“We should never take for granted what we have in this country and the work of the diggers fighting the Nazis and fighting tyranny and autocrats, that’s what’s kept us safe.”
The man was asked to leave the Shrine of Remembrance, Victoria Police said.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan strongly condemned the “hateful disruption”.
“A neo-Nazi disrupting this day is appalling — it has no place here,” Allan said.
“Anzac Day honours the values our Anzacs lived and died for: courage, loyalty, mateship, and sacrifice. Those who booed in the dark showed they have none of these qualities.
“To pierce the sombre silence of the Dawn Service is more than disrespect — it dishonours all who have served, fought and fallen.
“And to boo the Aboriginal servicemen and women who served our nation shows ignorance, hatred, and a complete lack of respect — for them, and for everything Anzac Day stands for.
“Anzac Day is a time to unite, reflect, and remember. Today and every day, we honour every Australian who has served the nation we are so lucky to call our home.”
