Anzac Day 2025 live updates – as it happened (2025)

That’s all for the Anzac Day 2025 live blog. Here is a wrap of the day’s main news:

• The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, attended the service at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, and said it was important to take time out of the flurry of campaigning to honour Australia’s defence forces. And in opposition leader Peter Dutton’s Anzac message, he said it is “out duty to deter tyranny and prevent catastrophic war”.

• The governor general, Sam Mostyn, addressed crowds at the dawn service in Gallipoli, paying tribute to the young men who “encountered the fury and the maelstrom of bullets and shrapnel,” and those who fell, and wouldn’t return home.

• A small group of people booed and yelled during the Welcome to Country delivered by Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown at Melbourne’s 5:30am servce. The booing was allegedly led by a “known neo-Nazi”, the veterans’ affairs minister, Matt Keogh, said. Others in the crowd shouted “Always was, always will be” and clapped and cheered over the top of the hecklers. Dutton called the booing a disgrace and said the Indigenous acknowledgment “should be respected”.

• In Perth, a heckler disrupted a welcome to country at the Kings Park dawn service, shouting obscenities. The Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, condemned the behaviour as “disgusting”.

• The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, said hecklers at the Melbourne and Perth services “must face the full force of the law”.

• Barnaby Joyce said there will be “no cuts” to the department of veterans’ affairs under the Coalition’s commitment to cut 41,000 public servants from Canberra over the next five years.

• And Dutton made a pitstop in the Townsville RSL to drop in on punters playing two-up and drinking a few beers. After a series of tosses, Dutton and his security staff began trying to leave the area but the raucous crowd yelled “shoey”, urging him to drink his XXXX beer from his shoe.

Thanks for joining us. Have a safe night, and see you back on the live blog tomorrow.

Historians dispute Bayeux tapestry penis tally after lengthy debate

In a historical spat that could be subtitled “1066 with knobs on”, two medieval experts are engaged in a battle over how many male genitalia are embroidered into the Bayeux tapestry.

The Oxford professor George Garnett drew worldwide interest six years ago when he announced he had totted up 93 penises stitched into the embroidered account of the Norman conquest of England.

According to Garnett, 88 of the male appendages are attached to horses and the remainder to human figures.

Now, the historian and Bayeux tapestry scholar Dr Christopher Monk – known as the Medieval Monk – believes he has found a 94th.

A running man, depicted in the tapestry border, has something dangling beneath his tunic. Garnett says it is the scabbard of a sword or dagger. Monk insists it is a male member.

“I am in no doubt that the appendage is a depiction of male genitalia – the missed penis, shall we say. The detail is surprisingly anatomically fulsome,” Monk said.

Tell us your election questions

Do you have any burning questions about the election? Is there anything you’re too afraid to ask or curious to know? Full Story is recording a special podcast episode that will answer your questions before polling day. We want your questions now.

Please email australia.tellmemore@theguardian.com.

We can’t wait to hear from you.

Rainy weather no barrier as thousands mark Anzac Day

Anzac Day holds special meaning for Gary Marshall, whose grandmother was a nurse in the army serving back in 1942.

“I come every year to pay my respects to the fallen diggers and for everyone fighting for human rights,” he told AAP.

I’ve been in the city since 3.15am for the dawn service.

He was one of thousands of Queenslanders who turned out despite wet weather to line the streets of Brisbane and pay tribute to former and current armed forces personnel.

The premier, David Crisafulli, began the day in the nation’s garrison city of Townsville, in north Queensland.

The turnout there, as well as in Brisbane, showed how important Anzac Day is, he said.

“Over the years there’s been people that have questioned its longevity and it’s defied it year on year,” he told AAP.

“For the crowds to turn out with inclement weather across a large portion of the state just shows you everything you need to know.”

– Australian Associated Press

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, says hecklers who interrupted the Welcome to Country at Anzac Day dawn services in Melbourne and Perth “must face the full force of the law”.

“What occurred at Melbourne’s Shrine of Remembrance, and Kings Park in Perth, was a disgrace,” he says.

There is no place in Australia for what occurred. 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.

In Melbourne, a small group of people booed and yelled throughout the Welcome to Country delivered by Bunurong elder Uncle Mark Brown at the 5:30am service at the city’s Shrine of Remembrance. Others in the crowd shouted “Always was, always will be” and clapped and cheered over the top of the hecklers, who again booed and shouted as Victoria’s governor, Margaret Gardner, delivered an acknowledgment of country. In Perth, a heckler disrupted a welcome to country at the Kings Park dawn service, shouting obscenities.

Mourners gather for final day of viewing ahead of Pope Francis’s funeral

Looking away from Anzac Day news for a moment, the Vatican is readying Pope Francis’s funeral as mourners gather for the final day of viewing his open coffin at St Peter’s Basilica.

Many of the 50 heads of state and 10 monarchs attending Saturday’s ceremony in St Peter’s Square, who include the US president, Donald Trump, and Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, are expected to arrive in Rome on Friday.

Italian and Vatican authorities have placed the area around St Peter’s under tight security before the funeral, with drones blocked, snipers on roofs and fighter jets on standby.

Tens of thousands of people have already queued for hours to pay their last respects to Francis, whose coffin will be closed at 8pm local time in a ceremony attended by senior cardinals. Cardinal Kevin Farrell, the camerlengo who is running the Vatican’s day-to-day affairs until a new pope is elected, will preside over the so-called “rite of the sealing of the coffin”.

Peter Dutton has made a pitstop in the Townsville RSL to drop in on punters playing two-up and drinking a few beers.

The opposition leader has so far had a pretty mellow campaign, opting for staged petrol station stops, but today’s stop was a different story. Dutton waded through the packed venue of revellers, who quickly crowded around to see what the fuss was about it.

It remained a relatively sedate affair until Dutton entered a section of the RSL where a crowd of more than 100 people were playing a game of two-up. The opposition leader joined in on the game as the spinner and was booed and cheered by the rowdy audience.

After a series of tosses, Dutton and his security staff began trying to leave the area but the raucous crowd yelled “shoey”, urging him to drink his XXXX beer from his shoe.

He did not do the infamous shoey but his exit was hampered by the packed room with a number of punters wanting to take pictures of or with him.

Thank you very much to Krishani Dhanji for rolling today’s live blog. I’ll be picking it up from here for the afternoon.

Thank you all for joining me on the blog today, I’ll leave you in the hands of the lovely Rafqa Touma to take you through the afternoon.

I’ll catch you here bright and early on Monday.

In pictures: Dawn service at Anzac Cove, Gallipoli

The governor general, Sam Mostyn, is addressing crowds at the dawn service in Gallipoli. Mostyn pays tribute to the young men who “encountered the fury and the maelstrom of bullets and shrapnel,” and those who fell, and wouldn’t return home:

We remember them as exceptional. And certainly there were incredible acts of extraordinary valour, stories of exceptional courage and sacrifice, that have resounded the generations. But those who fought here, as you’ve heard this morning, were just like us, the quiet, thoughtful mate, the hard worker, the loner, the larrikin and so many of the characters, we all recognise.

Co-chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria condemn ‘racist attack’ during welcome to country

The co-chairs of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria, Rueben Berg and Ngarra Murray, have condemned the “racist attack” during Melbourne’s Anzac Day dawn service and praised Uncle Mark Brown’s “strength and resolve” in a statement:

Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have a long and proud history of serving and sacrifice for this Country. As First Peoples we love sharing our culture, we want to see it recognised and respected and for everyone to be able to celebrate it together.

We stand in solidarity with [Brown] and acknowledge his strength and resolve during the disruption.

The Western Australian premier, Roger Cook, has condemned a heckler who interrupted an Anzac Day service in Perth this morning.

The person disrupted a welcome to country at the Kings Park dawn service, shouting obscenities.

Cook said the behaviour was “disgusting”.

Totally inappropriate, totally disrespectful, disgusting. This is a solemn occasion. It’s one where we should come together as a community and or someone to use it to make a political point and in that disrespectful way, is really quite unacceptable.

The prime minister has released a statement condemning the booing at an Anzac day service in Melbourne this morning.

The PM says there is “no place” for this type of incident in Australia.

There is no place in Australia for what occurred in Melbourne this morning. A neo-Nazi disrupting Anzac day is abhorrent, un-Australian, and disgraceful. The people responsible must face the full force of the law.

Albanese attended the dawn service in Canberra.

The view from the outer suburbs

The verdict of voters in the outer suburbs of capital cities will be crucial in next Saturday’s election and both parties have thrown a lot of resources at trying to win them.

Henry Belot travelled to Hawke on Melbourne’s north-western fringe where he hears that people feel short-changed on services which haven’t kept pace with population growth.

“People just want a fair go,” one campaigner says. Here’s his full piece:

Greens continue push for dental into Medicare

As experts warn young Australians will remain victims of an oral health “blindspot” because of the “stubbornly agnostic” attitudes of major political parties to include dental in Medicare, the Greens leader, Adam Bandt, says their party would push Labor to act on getting dental into Medicare.

Bandt, whose party’s policy is to see dental covered under Medicare, told Guardian Australia:

It’s critical that we expand Medicare so it covers everything, for everyone - and that includes your mouth.

As anyone who’s ever had a tooth ache knows, dental care isn’t optional. It’s ridiculous that this doesn’t already exist.

This election the Greens will keep Dutton out and get Labor to act on getting dental into Medicare.

In pictures: Peter Dutton at a second Anzac day ceremony in Samford

Roy Morgan releases latest trust rankings in Australian politics

As we get to the pointy end of this election campaign – which the leaders have been trying to boil down to “who do you trust” – well, it turns out that the trust isn’t with the federal major parties.

According to pollsters Roy Morgan, back in March 2022 (just before the last election), Labor Senator and now foreign minister Penny Wong took the top gong for the highest net trust score.

She was followed by Anthony Albanese, then Tanya Plibersek, then WA premier Mark McGowan and the independent senator Jacqui Lambie.

In April 2025, none bar Lambie sit in the top five.

The most trusted pollie is now independent ACT senator David Pocock, followed by Lambie, then Queensland’s premier, David Crisfulli, NSW’s premier, Chris Minns, and WA’s premier, Roger Cook.

In terms of who voters distrust the most (and according to Roy Morgan, voters are being driven by distrust more than trust in their voting choices): In March 2022, it was Clive Palmer who was the least trusted, then Scott Morrison, and Peter Dutton.

Dutton has now become the most distrusted leader in April 2025, followed by Palmer, then Donald Trump and Anthony Albanese. The Greens leader, Adam Bandt, sits down in sixth place. Rounding out the top ten most distrusted are Pauline Hanson, Angus Taylor, Barnaby Joyce and Michaelia Cash.

Joyce, Hanson, Taylor and Cash were all in the top ten back in 2022 as well.