Ata public hearing held on Tuesday to scrutinise the proposal,war widow Kellie Merritt joined former directors of the War Memorial and the Australian Institute of Architects in expressing reservations over the demolition of Anzac Hall and its replacement with a new building twice the size.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison launched the nine-year Memorial Development Project last November,foreshadowing a new underground southern entrance and glazed atrium leading to a reconstructed parade ground.
Merritt's husband Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel was the first Australian serviceman to be killed in the Iraq War in 2005 and his name features on the War Memorial's commemorative roll.
Replacing the existing hall with a"gigantic structure to display decommissioned military hardware"distracted from an understanding of the impact of war and the act of honouring Australia's war dead,Merritt said.
"Bigger does not mean better and more expensive does not buy broad commemoration,"she said,appearing as a representative of the Medical Association for Prevention of War."This proposal,I feel,runs the risk of glorifying war."
The association joined Steve Gower,a former director of the War Memorial,in suggesting there was little or no medical evidence to show the provision of galleries or exposure to familiar aircraft or weaponry could help veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder.