Australia changed one word in its national anthem to reflect what the prime minister called ‘the spirit of unity’ and the country’s indigenous people. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on New Year’s Eve that the second line of the national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, had been changed from “Because we are young and free” to “Because we are one and free.”
The change took effect Friday.
“It is time to ensure that this great unity is more fully reflected in our national anthem,” Morrison said, adding that Australia was ‘the most successful multicultural nation on earth’.
“While Australia as a modern nation may be relatively young, the story of our country is old, as are the stories of the many peoples of the First Nations whose stewardship rightly recognizes and respects us,” Morrison said.
“In the spirit of unity, it is only right that we ensure that our national anthem reflects this truth and has shared appreciation.”
Indigenous Australian Minister Ken Wyatt said in a statement that he had been asked about the change and had given his support to it.
Wyatt, the first indigenous Australian to be elected to the lower house of the federal parliament, said the one-word change was “small in nature, but meaningful.”
“It is a recognition that the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures date back 65,000 years,” he said.
The change comes less than two months after New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian expressed support for indigenous Australians who said the national anthem did not reflect them and their history.
University of New South Wales law professor Megan Davis, a wife of Cobble Cobble of Barrungam County in southwest Queensland, criticized the lack of consultation with indigenous peoples about the change.
“This is a disappointing way to end 2020 and start 2021. All about us, without us,” she wrote on social media.
Last month, Australia’s national rugby team, the Wallabies, became the first sports team to sing the national anthem in an indigenous language before their match against Argentina.
Advance Australia Fair was composed by Peter Dodds McCormick and was first performed in 1878. It was adopted as the national anthem in 1984.
Lee Jin-man / AP