The Australian Rugby League Commission has dropped playing of the national anthem at its annual All Stars match. The chair said today, “We have listened to our players’ concerns that the words of the anthem do not represent them or their families and does not include an acknowledgement of First Nations people. We respect their wishes and have agreed that the anthem will not be played at the All Stars match on February 22.” WfaAR comment: Something has significantly shifted here after so much consistent nay-saying and in the right direction. Such a public move that directly involves the game’s players and supporters is timely and long-overdue. It is a pity that the Government is unwilling to be as accommodating towards another request by our Indigenous peoples to fully implement the Uluru Statement from the Heart, a critically important constitutional change that will be a necessary precursor to any successful vote on the Republic.
Woman for an Australian Republic, Adelaide Ironside, republican poet and artist 1831-1867
Self portrait 1855, Newcastle Art Gallery NSW
