Australians have woken up to a new year with a new national anthem, after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a change of words on Thursday (December 31).
The song will no longer refer to Australia as “young and free” in an attempt to reflect the country’s long indigenous history.
Australia struggled for decades to reconcile with Aborigines, who arrived on the continent about 50,000 years before British colonists.
Every year the country has a national holiday, which indicates the date on which the first fleet sailed from Britain to Sydney in 1788.
Some indigenous people refer to Australia Day as ‘Invasion Day’.
Morrison said the national anthem should more reflect the diversity of the country:
“Well happy new year Australia because we are one and free. Our national anthem is about us, who we are and who we also hope for. We are a strong and vibrant liberal democracy. We live in a timeless country of ancient First Nations , and we bring together the stories of more than 300 national descendants and language groups. ‘
The idea to change the wording was driven in 2020 by New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who said the current wording ignores Australia’s “proud First Nations culture”.
There is now a renewed focus on indigenous empowerment amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
Video transcription
SCOTT MORRISON: Happy New Year, Australia, for we are one and free.
– Australians have woken up from a new year with a new national anthem after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a change of words on Thursday. The song will no longer refer to Australia as young and free, in an effort to reflect the country’s long indigenous history. Australia struggled for decades to reconcile with Aborigines who arrived on the continent about 50,000 years before British colonists. Every year the country has a national holiday, which indicates the date on which the first fleet sailed from Sydney to Sydney and 1788.
Some indigenous people refer to Australian day as an invasion day. Morrison said the national anthem should more reflect the diversity of the country.
SCOTT MORRISON: Our national anthem is about us, who we are and who we also hope for. We are a strong and vibrant liberal democracy. We live in a timeless land of the peoples of the ancient first people and bring together the stories of more than 300 national descendants and language groups.
The idea to change the wording was driven in 2020 by Gladys Berejiklian, Prime Minister of New South Wales. There is now a renewed focus on indigenous empowerment amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
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