THIS year’s Anzac Day march is set to go ahead in Mildura on Sunday amid controversy over attendance limits.

Paul Mensch, manager of veterans’ services at Mildura RSL, said the local branch “had to jump through some massive hoops” to get approval for the event, but it was “fantastic” to receive approval for up to 5000 people to attend.

He said it was a “double standard” up to 75,000 people would be permitted to attend the Anzac Day football match at the MCG, while numbers at the Anzac march were so restricted.

“But at the end of the day … we’re really looking forward to enabling our service personnel and local community the opportunity to pay their respects to those who served their country.”

To comply with attendance limits, Mr Mensch said the branch made the difficult decision to exclude schools and family members of veterans from the march.

The branch has also slimmed down the event to reduce the number of people laying wreaths and limit performances from choirs and bands.

“This is all so that we come in under the caps and regulations put in front of us,” he said.

A spokesperson for Wentworth RSL sub-branch said anyone who could not march in Mildura was welcome to come to to the march in Wentworth.

Mr Mensch said his hands were tied by state regulations limiting attendance numbers, and he and his club had gone to great lengths to make the march happen this year.

“While the rules have relaxed, the amount of effort and paperwork (we have had to do) to make it happen is huge,” he said. The organisers had even employed a contractor to assist with the approval paperwork.

But “after last year, come hell or high water, we were going do everything we possibly could to make sure that we, we got this event off the ground,” he said.

In 2020, the Mildura RSL branch joined other branches around the country in asking residents to celebrate Anzac Day by holding a candle in their driveway.

“I understand people might be a little upset they can’t march for their grandfather,” he said. “But at the end of the day, let’s be thankful that we’ve got a march at all.”

Only about two-thirds of the state’s RSL sub-branches would hold events this year, he said, with big clubs such as Geelong cancelling their Anzac Day ceremonies.

“A lot of RSLs throughout Victoria threw their hands in the air and said, ‘this is too hard, we aren’t doing anything’.”

Many large clubs that were holding service had to make the decision to limit participation to service personnel and ex-service personnel to keep numbers down, he said.

This year’s Anzac Day events come less than a week after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a royal commission into veteran suicides.

“It remains to be seen what comes out of it,” Mr Mensch said. “But it’s definitely a long time coming.”

“Veteran suicides have been happening since guys came back from the Boer War.

“To finally start to address the the issues of what happens to these guys when they come home and the support they receive — if we can reduce the suicide rate, that’s only going to be a good thing.”

Frustration turns to state rules

EX-serviceman John Bailey has retracted part of a Sunraysia Daily letter to the editor this week after a conversation with the executive committee at Mildura RSL sub-branch.

In his letter, on the issue of restrictions preventing families of veterans marching this year, Mr Bailey “respectfully (requested) the RSL and whoever else are responsible for the march to immediately reconsider their decision”.

Mr Bailey wrote he was both “astounded and deeply disappointed” at the move, which he thought the RSL was responsible for.

“What absolute unnecessary nonsense … this is a deplorable decision by the RSL,” Mr Bailey said in the letter.

Mr Bailey has since told Sunraysia Daily — after the conversation with the sub-branch — he had changed his mind.

“I retract part of my statement from the letter to the editor earlier in the week,” Mr Bailey said.

“The Mildura RSL said the Victorian Government had put them through all sorts of hurdles and hoops to get a march to happen at all.

“It’s not the RSL’s doing at all that families cannot march or participate in the march itself — it is purely government directive.

“I think it’s just nonsensical that the Victorian Government cannot see their way clear to allow family members to participate in the march, particularly when 75,000 people can attend the footy.”

There is a 5000-person cap on the march this year, but Mr Bailey said in previous years the march had not exceeded 5000 people.

He said he was confused about why families could not march.

“Participating in the march, with fans and everyone included, there would be around 500 attendees,” Mr Bailey said.

“I think it’s a blight on the Victorian Government’s attitude that they just cannot allow family members to participate in the march.

“Let’s face it, there’s been no COVID-19 in Mildura, or the whole of Sunraysia for that matter, in over 12 months … the risk of COVID-19 is minimal.

“The Mildura RSL encouraged family members in the past to march with their veteran elders for years.”

Mr Bailey said he would likely, as usual, attend the dawn service at Wentworth.

“We’ve always attended the dawn service at Wentworth, even though we moved to Mildura 20-odd years ago — it’s just like Wentworth to have extended the march invitation to everyone,” he said.

“The thought had crossed my mind to attend the Wentworth march with my family on Saturday but at the moment we’re still undecided.”

Medals worn with pride

MAUREEN Livingston was shocked to learn she wouldn’t be able to march for her father in this year’s Anzac Day parade.

“It’s just wrong,” she said.

For years, Ms Livingston has worn her father’s medals to Anzac events in Mildura.

But this year, due to state regulations limiting attendance to 5000 people, the Mildura RSL has made the difficult decision to exclude family members from the march.

Excluding family members is “ludicrous”, she said.

She accepted the restrictions in 2020 that led public Anzac Day events being replaced by private vigils, but with almost no community transmission of COVID-19 in Victoria, she said the restrictions this year were out of proportion to the risk.

“Why can’t we just put masks on and be in it?” she asked.

Many World War II veterans were no longer alive, she said, and that left families to continue the tradition in their memory.

Her father, Percival Lunn, was an ambulance officer with the Rats of Tobruk.

“I am an unemotional person generally,” she said, “but every time I march (the feeling) gets inside and you’re nearly in tears as you go down the road.

“I can’t believe you can’t have a few thousand people together for the march, but you can have 75,000 for a football match.

“The war wounds come home with them,” she said. “It is vital that we honour them for their sacrifice — let us march.”