Australians woke 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 has struggled for decades to come to terms with the Aborigines, who arrived on the continent some 50,000 years before British colonists.
Every year, the country has a national holiday marking the date on which the first fleet left Britain for Sydney in 1788.
Some indigenous peoples refer to Australia Day as “Invasion Day”.
Morrison said the national anthem should reflect more of the country’s diversity:
“Well, happy new year, Australia, because we are one and free. Our anthem is about us, who we are and who we hope to be too. We are a strong and vibrant liberal democracy. We live in a timeless land of the former First Nations peoples, and we come together the stories of more than 300 national ancestors and language groups. “
The idea of changing the text was launched in 2020 by New South Wales premier Gladys Berejiklian, who said the current text ignored 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, because we are one and free.
– Australians woke up to a new year with a new national anthem after Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced a change in words on Thursday. The song will no longer refer to Australia as young and free in an attempt to reflect the country’s long indigenous history. Australia has struggled for decades to come to terms with the Aborigines who arrived on the continent some 50,000 years before British colonists. Every year, the country has a national holiday marking the date on which the first fleet left Britain for Sydney and 1788.
Some indigenous peoples refer to Australia Day as the day of the invasion. Morrison said the National Anthem should reflect more on the country’s diversity.
SCOTT MORRISON: Our hymn is about us, who we are and who we hope to be too. We are a strong and vibrant liberal democracy. We live in a timeless land of peoples of the former first nation and we gather the stories of more than 300 national ancestors and language groups.
The idea of changing the text was launched in 2020 by Premier Gladys Berejiklian of New South Wales, who said the current text ignored the quote from Australia, which is the culture of the first proud nation. There is now a renewed focus on indigenous empowerment amid the Black Lives Matter movement.
[PEOPLE CHANTING]