Opposition Leader Angus Taylor says welcome to country celebrations have been devalued by overspending after Indigenous people were booed at Anzac Day dawn services during speeches.
Taylor condemned the outcry, saying it was un-Australian to act in such a way at a major event, although he made the broader point that he could “understand Australians’ frustration about overspending”.
“I feel that sometimes – often, actually. I think it’s overused and as a result they’re undervalued,” he said on ABC. “I would like to see them used less and therefore not reduced, as I think they are out of date.”
“It’s up to the individual organizing committees to decide whether they want to do it or not. But the general principle should be: let’s do this a little bit and make it more special when it happens.”
Taylor’s words echo those of former Liberal party leader Peter Dutton, who said before last year’s election that such celebrations, which have become common at public events, were excessive.
The question of symbolic recognition of Indigenous Australians dominated political debate during the Voice of Parliament referendum in 2023when the majority of Australians in every state voted against the proposed Indigenous representative body.
Cultural attitudes and immigration are key issues in next month’s by-election in the NSW seat of Farrer held by Sussan Ley. Taylor has been trying to win back support from One Nation, which polls more strongly than the Coalition and campaigned on a platform of nationalism and less immigration.
One Nation leader Pauline Hanson spoke at an anti-immigration protest outside Parliament in Canberra on Sunday. Nationals leader Matt Canavan was also in attendance.
On Anzac Day, heckles and boos were heard at dawn service celebrations in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. In some instances, attendees clapped in an attempt to quell the emotion. A man was arrested by NSW Police for what authorities described as a “nuisance act”.
A few days before the service, organizers of the anti-immigration group Fight for Australia posted on social media to ask supporters to attend the service and express their displeasure with Indigenous celebrations.
This masthead was reported on Saturday that among those screaming at the Melbourne Museum Altar were former members and known associates of the disbanded neo-Nazi group the National Socialist Network (NSN).
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan said the events dishonored “everyone who fought and died for our freedom”.
“Doing politics on this holy day is a dirty thing. I condemn it, and so should every leader,” he said.
NSW Premier Chris Minns said he was disappointed to be booed by “a small number of people … Anzac Day should always be treated with the respect, dignity and respect it deserves”.
Indigenous scholar Marcia Langton called for a ban on future ceremonies, although it is unclear how such a move would be implemented.
“Many who attended the service raised their voices and clapped in support of the speakers and stopped the vandals,” he wrote in Guardian Australia.
“What Uncle Mark, Uncle Ray and Aunt Di, and the RSL elders know, is that more than 118 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men served in the Australian Light Horse during the first world war.
“The idiots who tried to rob them of the sacred time, and those of us who watch with them during the dawn service, deserve more than contempt and a few hateful words.”
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Paul Sakkal is a Senior Political Writer. He previously covered Victorian politics and won the Walkley Award and the 2025 Press Gallery Journalist of the Year. Contact him safely on Waves @paulsakkal.14.Connect through X or email address.
Rob Harris is a national correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age based in Canberra. He is a former European writer.Connect through email address.
