The anthem, “Advance Australia Fair,” has been changed to recognize the country’s history and indigenous communities, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced late Thursday, a few hours before 2021.
The first line, “All Australians let us rejoice, because we are young and free”, will now end with “one and free”.
“Australia, as a modern nation, may be relatively young, but the history of our country is old, as are the stories of many First Nations peoples whose administration we rightly recognize and respect,” Morrison wrote in a statement. opinion article in the Sydney Morning Herald.
“In the spirit of unity, it is right that we recognize this and make sure that our national anthem reflects this truth and a common appreciation. Changing “young and free” to “one and free” takes nothing, but I think it adds a lot. “
The government has a history of changing the song to be more inclusive – when Peter Dodds McCormick’s original 1878 composition was declared the official national anthem in 1984, replacing “God Save the Queen”, two courts of “sons” were changed. with sex – neutral phrasing.
The anthem has become controversial in recent years, amid growing conversation about indigenous representation, systemic inequality and racial injustice. In particular, many have pushed back against the phrase “because we are young and free” – a nod to the time when Britain’s first fleet landed in Australia in 1788 – given that Australia is home to one of the oldest civilizations. known in the world.
In 2018, a 9-year-old girl was attacked by prominent politicians, who demanded to be expelled from school because she refused to sit during the anthem out of respect for the indigenous population. In 2019, the athletes won titles because they refused to sing the anthem at football matches. And in 2020, national rugby players sang the anthem in the language of the Eora nation – the first time it was sung in an indigenous language at a major sporting event.
Peter Vickery, founder and chairman of the non-profit organization Representation In Anthem, has campaigned for a more inclusive anthem since 2016. Vickery said Friday, “We just can’t have a hymn that hurts its own people.”
Vickery worked with other indigenous leaders and singers to create alternative, more inclusive lyrics – a change being the “one and free” phrase Morrison adopted. Their campaign gained greater visibility and momentum last year when New South Wales Prime Minister Gladys Berejiklian voiced support.
“Honestly, I’m excited,” Vickery said. “It achieves a major goal of our work, which has been to turn words of evil or exclusion into words of inclusion and to embrace a multicultural society of the 21st century.”
Other prominent Australian Indigenous figures, including Indigenous Australian Minister Ken Wyatt and Olympic gold medalist sprinter
Cathy Freeman, also celebrated change.
But he was also greeted with skepticism by some who called it insubstantial and more symbolic than making any real change.
“Changing the anthem in one word is not good enough!” posted on Twitter a former world champion in indigenous boxing
Anthony Mundine on Friday, adding that the country must “give up the song and start fresh with a bit of black history and white history.”
Vickery openly acknowledged such criticism, saying that the symbolic power of the campaign “can never be a substitute for substance.” But, he added, the anthem was still “an important first step.”
Other critics have argued that the message of unity and the inclusion of “free” in the lyrics is
UNDERMINED through controversial policies for asylum seekers and refugees held in Australia’s notorious offshore immigration centers, as well as the systemic barriers still facing the indigenous population.
While the country’s indigenous population accounts for 3.3% of the 25 million people, they represent more than a quarter of the 41,000 prisoners. Indigenous Australians are also almost twice as likely to die by suicide, have a life expectancy of almost nine years and have higher infant mortality rates than non-Indigenous Australians.
The unemployment rate for Indigenous Australians is over 4 times the national average.
Ian Hamm, president of the indigenous First Nations Foundation, praised the changed lyrics – but also highlighted other more concrete actions that need to be taken.
For example, Australia does not yet have a treaty between its government and its natives – unlike other Commonwealth countries, such as New Zealand and Canada. The Australian Constitution does not explicitly mention the country’s indigenous population.
“I think it’s a good step, but after all, it’s just one step, one thing,” Hamm said. “And the anthem itself is just that – it’s a song. There are a lot of other initiatives and changes and efforts to be made to create fair opportunities for Aboriginal peoples and fairness in the outcomes of life for Aboriginal peoples.”
