Change to Australian anthem mooted

SYDNEY: Australia should change the lyrics of its national anthem to honour its indigenous people, New South Wales state Premier Gladys Berejiklian said yesterday, becoming one of the most prominent politicians to endorse such an alteration.

Australia’s anthem includes the line ‘‘we are young and free’’. Berejiklian said this should be changed to ‘‘we are one and free’’ as it failed to recognise that indigenous Australians were the oldest continued civilisation in the world.

‘‘I think it’s about time we recognise the tens of thousands of years of the first nations people of this continent,’’ she told ABC television. ‘‘We’re tens of thousands of years old when it comes to human inhabitants. It’s just a small gesture.’’

Australians mark January 26 as Australia Day, on the date the First Fleet sailed into Sydney Harbour in 1788.

Some indigenous people refer to Australia Day as ‘‘Invasion Day’’. — Reuters