Disrespectful Aussie removed from Dawn Service as Albanese slams extremists as ‘cowards’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has slammed those who interrupted Welcome to Country ceremonies during dawn services in Melbourne and Perth, claiming they must ‘face the full force of the law’. 

Mr Albanese described heckling incidents during the Welcome to Country messages during the Anzac Day ceremonies on Friday morning as ‘disgraceful’. 

‘There is no place in Australia for what occurred,’ he told reporters in Canberra. 

‘The disruption of Anzac Day is beyond contempt, and the people responsible must face the full force of the law. This was an act of low cowardice on a day when we honour courage and sacrifice.

‘Anzac Day is when we come together to remember all those who have served our country in war and the cause of peace, including those who continue to serve our nation today.’

Tens of thousands gathered to pay their respects to soldiers past and present at Melbourne’s Anzac Day Dawn Service on Friday morning. 

When a group of protesters began to boo during Bunurong elder Mark Brown’s Welcome to Country, outraged attendees quickly drowned them out with cheers in protest. 

In a video recorded at the service, one heckler can be heard telling the crowd: ‘Australia is for the white man.’

The smiling heckler is pictured being escorted from a dawn service in Melbourne where he interrupted a Welcome to Country to protest: ‘Australia is for the white man’

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese  at the Anzac Day Dawn Service at the Australian War Memorial on Friday wearing a commemorative poppy

Surrounding audience members ordered the heckler to be silent. 

‘Our son is fighting, mate’, one woman said. 

‘Shut your mouth and show your respects,’ another said. 

The young man smirked before repeating: ‘Australia is for the white man.’

‘The country was federated on white Australia,’ he added. 

After being accused of being racist, the man said: ‘The Anzacs fought for a white Australia. The Anzacs were racist.’

Another attendee then told him he was ‘disturbing the peace’, before a woman yelled: ‘There were black diggers at Anzac Cove, mate.’

Some time later, he was escorted away from the crowd by two men dressed in military uniforms while attendees applauded. 

Bunurong elder Mark Brown’s (pictured) Welcome to Country at Melbourne’s Anzac Day Dawn Service was interrupted by a group of hecklers

Prominent neo-Nazi figure Jacob Hersant is pictured at the Melbourne Dawn Service where he allegedly interrupted a Welcome to Country with boos

Jacob Hersant, a prominent neo-Nazi figure, was allegedly among those loudly booing.

‘This is a day for the Anzacs, it’s not for Aboriginals,’ he told media after the service.

Hersant was spoken to by police and escorted from the service and it was understood he did not perform a Nazi salute, despite some reports.

A spokesperson for Victoria Police told Daily Mail Australia a 26-year-old man from Kensington was directed to leave the area following the disruption. 

Police have interviewed him for ‘offensive behaviour’ and will proceed via a summons. 

Daily Mail Australia is not suggesting Mr Hersant was the individual identified by Victoria Police. 

Meanwhile, WA Police have appealed for information following a lone heckling incident at the King’s Park Dawn service on Friday morning. 

That incident is believed to have involved a single heckler who yelled obscenities during a welcome by Noongar Elder and veteran Di Ryder. 

Sunrise host Natalie Barr (left) described the heckling as ‘disgusting’ during Friday morning’s broadcast

A number of political and media figures have joined the Prime Minister in condemning the disruptions, including Sunrise host Natalie Barr who described the Melbourne incident as ‘disgusting’. 

‘Save your protests,’ she said. 

‘We do not care what you are sick of. Today is not the day to share it.’

Daily Mail Australia has approached WA Police for comment. 

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