A Lib MP Is Keen To Replace The “Boundless Plains” Bit In The Aussie Anthem

Shaking up the Australian national anthem ain’t exactly a new concept, but when a Liberal MP comes out with a plan to rejuvenate Advance Australia Fair, it’s worth paying attention to see what musical masterstroke they envision. 

If you’re Andrew Laming, that includes a new and revamped verse, dedicated entirely to what he believes are Aussie values – because the anthem’s second verse apparently “has pretty much the same message” as its first.

Yessir, instead of just replacing it wholesale with Waltzing Matilda or Cold Chisel’s Flame Trees, Laming has proposed that we swap the second verse – you know, the underrated one about having boundless plains to share – for lyrics espousing larrikinism and Aussie grit.

In pictorial form:

While Laming did suggest new lyrics could promote how Australians “come from blends of many backgrounds,” he isn’t so hot on the current words talking about “how much space we have.”

Of course, his suggestion comes on the heels of the massive shake-up to Australia’s citizenship test, which will include (yet to be defined) questions regarding Australian values. 

Laming went further, intimating to Fairfax Media that he’s “no great fan of our current national anthem, to be honest,” and that “if you’re going to contemplate a new verse you should contemplate a new national anthem.”