(Transcript from World News Radio)
Supermarket giant Woolworths has apologised after its Anzac commemoration website sparked a furore across the country.
It's also led to a warning over the potential penalties for misuse of the word 'Anzac'.
Aileen Phillips reports.
As veterans, family members and the public prepare for centenary Anzac commemorations, Woolworths launched an online campaign.
It urged people to share pictures of loved ones lost to war by uploading images to a website.
The images were then branded with a Woolworths logo and the phrase "Fresh in our memories."
The campaign was swiftly pulled after the Veterans Affairs Minister Michael Rolandson asked for it to be withdrawn.
Under the Protection of Word Anzac Act 1920, hefty penalties can be imposed for any use of the word 'Anzac' without official permission in circumstances that are deemed inappropriate.
The Minister says permission was not sought by Woolworths, and it would not have been approved.
He says he hopes the incident serves as a warning to others about the potential penalties.
"10-thousand [dollars] for an individual and 50-thousand [dollars] for a corporate. But there is also 12 months imprisonment potentially attached to it as well. Even in 1920 when this act was put in place, the leigslators of the day were determined to protect the word and put in what are very significant penalties. My role is not to impose penalties unless I have to. My role is to try and educate people this is a very special word."
Woolworths issued a statement in response:
"The Fresh in Our Memories website has been taken down last night. The site was developed to give our staff and customers a place to put their stories to mark the Centenary of ANZAC. We regret that our branding on the picture generator has caused offense, this was clearly never our intention. Like many heritage Australian companies, we were marking our respect for ANZAC and our veterans. We continue to be proud supporters of the RSL and Camp Gallipoli in this important year and look forward to working with them into the future."
While the constraints on using `Anzac' are almost as old as the word itself, Mr Ronaldson says there is no place for the word to be trivialised.
"This is a very, very special word for all Australians. It must be treated appropriately and we must never let it be used in an inappropriate sense that diminshes service and sacrifice over the last 100 years. The centenary of Anzac is about service and sacrfice over the last 100 years in all theatres of war. There are 102-thousand names in the cloisters of the Australian War Memorial of men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for this nation. By protection the word Anzac we protect their past and we protect their memories."
And the court of public opinion has spoken loud and clear.
"I'm still amazed at the utter ghoulishness of Woolworths shoehorning the word 'Fresh' into community memories of war" Tweeted one.
Another wrote "Woolworths, very on the nose and in bad taste Woolies. Sack the person who approved this campaign."
Ken Doolan is the National President of the Returned and Services League.
He says the public backlash over the campaign is not surprising.
"The Australian public know what is acceptable and they are very swift judges of what they find unacceptable. They found it unacceptable and Woolworths checked the corrective action. So, there's no surprises there. I think if other companies had breached other things the Australian public didn't like then that would have been the case as well. I think that one of the great benefits of living in a vibrant democracy is that we speak our minds."
