WA news LIVE: WA residents pay respect at Anzac Day dawn services; Premier condemns Kings Park service heckler

Dawn services have been held across the state this morning to commemorate Anzac Day, but there are other ways the Perth community can pay their respects.

The Royal Australian Airforce will conduct flying displays in the skies above Perth throughout the morning – the latest to be held in Chittering at 11.50am.

You can find out more about when and where to catch those displays here.

A Gunfire Breakfast was held at Government House Gardens this morning, serving tea and coffee and bacon and egg rolls.

The breakfast will be followed by the Anzac Day march down St Georges Terrace from 9am.

A special lighting display on Boorloo Bridge, created to pay tribute and honour our war heroes, was projected from 3am for the dawn service this morning, but will also light up again in the evening.

And, back to Government House, volunteers from RSL Western Australia have planted over 40,000 hand crocheted poppies to commemorate the lives lost during World War I.

The display will be up all day for those who wish to visit to pay their respects.

And continuing with our Anzac Day coverage, Premier Roger Cook has lashed a heckler who shouted obscenities during the Welcome to Country, branding the behaviour “totally disrespectful”.

Jeers rang out from the crowd to the right of the State War Memorial shortly before 6am as Noongar Elder and former soldier Di Ryder took to the podium for the traditional welcome.

The man was quickly hushed by surrounding members of the crowd.

Cook expressed his disappointment over the incident during a press conference held shortly after the dawn service.

Here’s what he had to say.

Totally inappropriate, totally disrespectful, disgusting.

This is a solemn occasion. It’s one where we should come together as a community.

For someone to use it to make a political point and in that disrespectful way, is really quite unacceptable.

Tens of thousands of people have filled Kings Park at dawn to commemorate Anzac Day 110 years after the Gallipoli campaign.

The crowd brimming with veterans, dignitaries and their families surrounded the Cenotaph in the State War Memorial, the site of the state’s largest service.

The sombre atmosphere was disrupted by a heckler yelling obscenities across the crowd, who was hushed by surrounding attendees.

Several speakers used the service to pay tribute to Arthur Leggett – WA’s last remaining World War II prisoner of war – who died earlier this month at the age of 106.

Premier Roger Cook, Veterans Affairs Minister Paul Papalia and Opposition Leader Basil Zempilas joined defence personnel to pay their respects by laying wreaths at the memorial.

They were joined by Senator Michaelia Cash and One Nation Leader Pauline Hanson, who made a surprise appearance.

The conclusion of the service was marked by the roar of the RAAF flyover.

There are more than 100 Anzac Day events scheduled to take place at RSL sub-branches across the state, including a march throughout the CBD.

Here’s what’s making headlines today:

• The man who allegedly murdered Central Coast teenager Audrey Griffin was spared jail and placed on a supervision order months before police say he killed the 19-year-old, despite his lengthy history of violent offending and breaching restraining orders.
• Surging numbers of working holidaymakers must be drastically curtailed for Opposition Leader Peter Dutton to achieve his promise of driving down overall migration as the number of backpackers with working visas hits 225,000 for the first time.
• US President Donald Trump offered rare criticism of Vladimir Putin on Thursday (Washington time), urging the Russian leader to “STOP!” after a deadly barrage of attacks on Kyiv, Ukraine’s capital.
• Richard Branson, the founder of Virgin Atlantic, sharply criticised President Donald Trump’s “erratic” trade policies on Wednesday, saying that they risk “doing so much damage around the world” and that most Americans do not support them.

A cold start to the day, dipping as low as 9 degrees overnight.

Good morning readers, and welcome to our live blog on the Anzac Day public holiday.

Many of you, we’re sure, will have already been up early to attend dawn services across the state.

In Perth, tens of thousands of people flocked to Kings Park to commemorate Anzac Day – 110 years after the Gallipoli campaign.

Reporter Jesinta Burton attended the ceremony, and writes that several speakers used the service to pay tribute to Arthur Leggett – WA’s last remaining World War II prisoner of war – who died earlier this month at the age of 106.

Making headlines elsewhere today, political reporter Hamish Hastie takes stock of the state of affairs in WA, fresh of the back of yet another visit from the prime minister and opposition leader, highlighting just how important the west remains in the national conversation.

With the finish line in sight, pre-polling numbers surging, and West Australians coming out of their Easter break slumber, what will the final push look like from the major parties in the state that could hold the key to their hopes of forming government?

You can read Hamish Hastie’s article here.

And finally, in football, Collingwood will play Essendon in the traditional Anzac Day match, while Fremantle will host Adelaide in the first Len Hall Tribute Game to fall on Anzac Day in 10 years.

Thank you for joining us today, we’ll bring you all the news and Anzac Day commemorations from across the state as they come to hand.