Australia alters national anthem to honor indigenous population

Kayla Tippens - Senior | News

On Dec. 31, Scott Morrison, the Prime Minister of Australia, announced that there have been changes to the “Advance Australia Fair,” the Australian national anthem. The anthem has been altered to pay homage to the indigenous peoples of Australia.

The line, “Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and free,” will now end as, “one and free.”

"Australia as a modern nation may be relatively young, but our country's story is ancient, as are the stories of the many First Nations peoples whose stewardship we rightly acknowledge and respect," Morrison wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.

Australia is home to one of the world’s oldest civilizations. Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders were living in Australia thousands of years before it was colonized. When Australia was colonized, there were over 700 languages spoken by many diverse indigenous groups.

“In the spirit of unity, it is only right that we also now acknowledge this and ensure our national anthem reflects this truth and shared appreciation. Changing ‘young and free’ to ‘one and free’ takes nothing away, but I believe it adds much.” said Morrison.

There has been a growing concern about the anthem in recent years. There have been more conversations about indigenous representation and racial injustices. In 2018, a 9-year-old girl was threatened to be expelled from schools because she did not stand for the national anthem out of respect for the indigenous peoples.

In 2019, athletes began refusing to sing the anthem at sporting events. Also in 2020, national rugby union players sang the anthem in one of the many indigenous languages.

However, not all are pleased by the anthem change. Anthony Mundine, indigenous former world boxing champion, believes “the anthem’s one-word change isn’t good enough.” Some Australians believe that the anthem’s change is a well intentioned gesture, but are skeptical if it will enact change.

Indigenous peoples make up 3.3% of the Australian population, but they account for more than a quarter of the nation's prisoners. Indigenous peoples are twice as likely to commit suicide, and their unemployment rate is 4 times the national average.

Also, Australia still does not have a treaty with it’s indigenous peoples. Australians are concerned about whether or not the anthem will enact any change.

“I think it's a good step, but after all, it's just one step, one thing," said Ian Hamm, chair of the indigenous organization First Nations Foundation. "And the anthem in itself is just that -- it's a song. There's a whole bunch of other initiatives and changes and efforts to be done to create equity of opportunity for Aboriginal people, and equity in life outcomes for Aboriginal peoples.”