A line
in Australia’s national anthem was changed on Friday in an attempt to recognise
the country’s indigenous people in a better manner, AFP reported.

The
national anthem, Advance Australia Fair, as per an announcement by Prime
Minister Scott Morrison, would change from ‘For we are young and free’ to ‘For
we are one and free’.

Also read: Watch | New Zealand rings in New Year with a beautiful fireworks show

“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,” AFP quoted Morrison as saying on the New
Year’s Eve in The Age newspaper.

Morrison
reportedly said that the change of phrase does not take anything away, but that
according to his belief it adds a lot.

The move had been
previously floated to better recognise Indigenous Australian history, which
spans back tens of thousands of years, but the conservative leader had not
flagged the change until announcing it late on Thursday night.

Australia is a
country still reckoning with its colonial past and inequality facing its First
Nations peoples, with Indigenous children twice as likely to die before their
fifth birthday, according to official statistics.

Also read: ‘It’s bit Baggy and Green’: Cricketer Ben Stokes quips wearing Test, ODI team of the decade caps

Earlier this year,
large protests were held in several cities around the country calling for an
end to deaths in custody of Indigenous people — which number more than 400 in
the last three decades.

No prosecutions
have been brought despite dozens of investigations, inquests and in some cases
video evidence of abuse.