Mal Meninga calls for referendum on Australian national anthem

Kangaroos coach Mal Meninga has called for a referendum on the Australian national anthem after the issue was brought to light again before Friday night’s NRL All-Stars match.

A number of Indigenous All-Stars players chose not to sing Advance Australia Fair before their 34-14 win over the New Zealand Maoris in Melbourne.

The players’ decision sparked debate for a number of reasons, including the question of why the anthem was even played before a match between the Indigenous team.

But there is a more serious argument building: why should it remain the anthem?

Quizzed on whether Advance Australia Fair should have been played before the match, Indigenous captain Cody Walker was unequivocal.

“To be honest, no,” he said.

“It just brings back so many memories from what’s happened and I think everyone in Australia needs to get together and work something out. It doesn’t represent me and my family.”

The situation was highlighted by the pre-game airing of God Defend New Zealand, an anthem that features verses in Maori and English.

Meninga, a rugby league Immortal, stood alongside Walker in a heartfelt post published on Saturday.

“A fantastic All Stars rugby league game this weekend has had an unintended consequence. It is time for the Australian people, I believe, to have another conversation about their national anthem,” he wrote on the NRL website.

The current version of Advance Australia Fair replaced God Save the Queen as the country’s official national anthem in 1984, and only then after multiple governments went back and forth between the two.

“While the Indigenous population has been talking about Advance Australia Fair for a long time, I cannot see why there can’t be debate about it again now,” Meninga continued.

“I can’t see any reason why we can’t ask all of Australia once again what is a true and contemporary song for Australia now. Let’s have a referendum.

“Times have changed since the last decision was made. We’ve had major decisions around Indigenous Australia such as native title recognition and cultural heritage being revived.

“We’ve had the national Sorry Day so Australians – all Australians – are very aware of our national history, maybe more aware than they were before.

“So we can have a national debate and let the people of Australia have their say. If we have a national anthem that offends our Indigenous people, let’s see what all of Australia thinks. I feel we do need a change to be more contemporary.”

One of the key issues in acknowledging the Indigenous population has been the lack of a single language.

That hasn’t stopped some: last year, a high-school student moved NRL fans during the league’s Indigenous Round by singing a translated version of Advance Australia Fair.

But Meninga contends the New Zealand method does not need to be followed, so long as a new anthem is appreciated by all Australians.

“It could be a song all Australians want and not a distinction between just two cultures – the indigenous and non-indigenous,” he wrote.

“Australia is a multicultural society so it should be a multicultural anthem in my opinion.”