From the BBC:
“Australia
changes national anthem to reflect indigenous past”
Australians
will sing a different version of their national anthem from 1 January after
Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a change to the words on Thursday. The
anthem will no longer refer to Australia as "young and free" - in an
attempt to reflect the country's long indigenous history. The announcement was
a surprise but welcomed across the government. Mr Morrison said he hopes the
change will create a "spirit of unity".
People
inhabited Australia for tens of thousands of years before it was colonised by
mostly white English settlers in the 18th Century. The line to be removed in
the anthem, which is called Advance Australia Fair, is "For we are young
and free". Instead people will sing "For we are one and free." Earlier
this year, the leader of New South Wales state, Premier Gladys Berejiklian,
suggested the change, saying the current wording ignored Australia's
"proud First Nations culture". "Changing 'young and free' to
'one and free' takes nothing away, but I believe it adds much," Prime
Minister Morrison, who is a conservative, said. "It recognises the
distance we have travelled as a nation. It recognises that our national story
is drawn from more than 300 national ancestries and language groups and we are
the most successful multicultural nation on earth." He also said the
change celebrated the unity Australia formed during the coronavirus pandemic. Opposition
leader Anthony Albanese commented that the country "should be proud of the
fact that we have the oldest continuous civilisation on the planet right here
with First Nations people".
In recent years
Australia has made greater efforts to recognise indigenous history in cultural
and political events. In December, rugby players for the national team sang the
national anthem in an indigenous language for the first time. The team sang in
the language of the Eora nation - a group of peoples from the Sydney area -
before performing the anthem in English.
^ This change
seems fair and will still keep the Anthem’s tune and overall meaning. ^
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