RSL Australia will review its Welcome to Country guidelines after Indigenous elders and veterans were booed during Anzac Day services across the country.
Military leaders and politicians were quick to criticise the behaviour at commemorations in Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, with one person charged over a disturbance at the latter dawn service.
Opposition leader Angus Taylor condemned the booing, but said he understood why some were concerned about Welcome to Country overuse.
RSL national president Peter Tinley on Monday said he had been “appalled” by the behaviour at some Anzac Day ceremonies.
Peter Tinley says he personally supports Welcome to Country addresses at Anzac Day services. (ABC News: Keane Bourke)
He said he believed Welcome to Country had a place on Anzac Day, but said the decision to perform the address should fall to individual branches.
“What happens in far north Queensland or in far north Western Australia, they are localised choices,” he said.
“They have to have a nose to the atmosphere that they’re working in, but we will show leadership.
“We will review policies. We provide guidance to our branches as to how they might attend to this.”Opportunity for change
Mr Tinley said those who took issue with Welcome to Country addresses on Anzac Day appeared to be in the minority.
“My 20-year-old son, who is a third-year student at the defence academy in the army, his generation don’t have a problem with it,” he said.
“It can get overworked … so then it becomes a question of how are we going to review this process and make it more relevant?
“I think there’s a real opportunity for the RSL to lead and provide a better expression that is more tailored and appropriate for the commemorative day that it is.”
Veteran Uncle Ray Minniecon was among those booed during his Welcome to Country in Sydney address at the weekend.
He said he would not be deterred by the actions of disruptors.
Uncle Ray Minnieco was undeterred by disrupters on Anzac Day in Sydney. (ABC News: Liam Patrick)
“Part of your military training is just to go through any kind of conflict, or any kind of tension that’s there, and just do what you need to do,” he said.
Whadjuk Noongar elder Di Ryder said she was “mortified” during the booing of her Welcome to Country in Perth.
“I had a right to be standing up there as a veteran and also a Noongar elder, and for me that was the thing. I should have been able to be there without being booed,” she said.
Mr Tinley said RSL Australia would be seeking advice from the federal government to prevent further disruptions.
Di Ryder was booed during her Welcome to Country. (ABC News: Kenith Png)
He said Anzac Day commemorations had evolved over time, with orders of service “not cast in stone”.
“I think that’s a good thing, to be dynamic and responsive and reflective to our community,” he said.
“I think it’s an opportunity for the RSL to reflect on it and come up with a way that actually makes it even more relevant and show leadership.”