It's a standing joke that most Australians don't know the words of "Advance Australia Fair", our national anthem. I don't think it's a great tune, and some of the words seem a bit odd - 'girt' always makes me laugh. But there is a line in the second verse which is no longer relevant, and so we should abandon the anthem.
This line reads, "For those who've come across the seas, we've boundless plains to share". But today our Prime Minister, the one who is elected to speak for Australia, has announced that no one who arrives by boat as a refugee will be allowed to stay in Australia. Instead, those people who have left their homeland for all sorts of reasons; those people who have risked everything to get to Australia; will be flown to Papua New Guinea where they will be 'processed'. And if they are found to be genuine refugees, then they will still be unwelcome in Australia.
There is so much that is WRONG with this decision, but I won't comment on that here.
However, there are two things that stand in my mind.
Firstly, we should abandon our National Anthem. It is now a joke.
Second, when we do have an election, who do we vote for now? The Labor party have made this decision, and the Liberals support it.
"For those who've come across the seas, we've . . ." Fill in the blanks yourself.
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