Kalbarri RSL boss Alex Hack vows to find out ‘real reason’ ADF personnel didn’t march in town’s Anzac parade

Kalbarri’s RSL president has vowed to get to the bottom of why Australian Defence Force personnel were not allowed to march in the town’s Anzac Day parade. Veteran Alex Hack said he was still angered by the ADF’s decision not to allow its troops, who were deployed to clean up buildings in the town destroyed by cyclone Seroja in April, to take part in the parade. The ADF said personnel, who attended the dawn service, did not have their ceremonial uniforms with them so could not march. “At no stage did the ADF indicate they would participate in Anzac Day marches, with the priority of effort and resources allocated to helping the community, DFES and the WA Government with clean-up,” the ADF said. But 30 minutes before the march, multiple army vehicles were lined up on Kalbarri’s main street. By the time marchers set off, they too were gone. Mr Hack drew parallels between the situation and the 39th Battalion Parade at Menari on the Kokoda Track during World War II when soldiers were filmed marching in their tattered and bloody uniforms, some barely standing because of fatigue and injury. “Those Ragged Bloody Heroes”, as they have come to be known, were asked by an Australian cinematographer not to clean up so history would show them as they were. “Soldiers can never virtually disobey a command — the military have to have standards and if there’s a rule to be on the parade ground they have to be in their dress uniform, it obviously doesn’t apply,” Mr Hack said. “But I’m sure there isn’t a rule that if they’re in the field they can’t parade in their camouflage.” Mr Hack said he would request that the RSL discuss the issue at its 105th State Congress in Perth on Saturday, wanting to know what the “real reason” was behind the decision. “What was the real reason? Why did they lie? It wasn’t because they were too busy they couldn’t take an hour off work on Anzac Day to celebrate, that’s what they effectively told (the Geraldton Guardian),” he said. Federal Defence Industry Minister Melissa Price, also the member for Kalbarri’s electorate of Durack, criticised Defence for the move. RSLWA and Defence Department secretary Greg Moriarty were contacted for comment.