The federal government, preparing for a backlash from tens of thousands of Australians who will miss out on the ballot to attend the centenary Anzac Day services at Gallipoli next year, is arranging a major commemorative event at Lone Pine later in the year.
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The Minister for Veterans Affairs, Senator Michael Ronaldson, said the Lone Pine ceremony, on August 6, 2015, would provide an alternative destination for those who had hoped to attend the Anzac Day services.
Senator Ronaldson will write next week to all 45,000 Australians who applied to the ballot for the right to attend the Anzac Day events at Gallipoli on April 25, 2015, telling them whether they have been successful or not
Only 8000 Australians and 2000 New Zealanders will be given the nod, leaving about 35,000 to be told they have been balloted out.
The commemorative site on North Beach, near Anzac Cove on the Gallipoli Peninsula, has been deemed able to accommodate no more than 10,500 people. This is despite an estimated 14,000 people crowding on to the site when it was opened in 2000 by Prime Minister John Howard.
Senator Ronaldson told the Senate he understood there would be "those who would be understandably disappointed". Access to Gallipoli would be restricted to those who were successful in the ballot, and there were "no alternatives".
However, he said one of the most important battles on the Gallipoli Peninsula was at Lone Pine, which began on August 6, 2015. The battle claimed 2000 Australian casualties, and six soldiers were awarded the Victoria Cross.
Senator Ronaldson said the event being planned to commemorate the battle of Lone Pine would extend the opportunities for those who wished to attend a service at Gallipoli in 2015.
He also urged Australians to arrange and attend their own Anzac ceremonies in cities, regions and country towns.
Senator Ronaldson took pains to announce that Anzac Day at Gallipoli would not be a politicians' festival.
Only four Australian politicians would attend: the prime minister, Senator Ronaldson himself, the opposition spokesman on Veterans Affairs at the time and the Opposition Leader, who he predicted would be either Bill Shorten or Paul Howes (the Australian Workers Union chief who has quit the union for a future yet to be determined).
