In news that may have escaped the notice of many political observers in January 2026, the government in the Northern Territory officially mandated that public schools within its borders must sing the Australian National Anthem in assemblies and special school events.
Those that did see the news may have been tempted to ask: “was it not already a mandate?”
In fact, many would be alarmed to learn that not only did the Northern Territory mandate the National Anthem in its schools, but it is now the only jurisdiction in Australia to have such a mandate. In every other state and territory, governments and education authorities have thrown up the white flag on the National Anthem. Advance Australia Fair has been in retreat.
Certainly, the Northern Territory has the right idea. On the one hand, it overwhelmingly reflects mainstream popular opinion. A survey commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs in April 2026 indicated that 71 per cent of Australians agree with the NT government’s decision to mandate the National Anthem in schools, with only 10 per cent disagreeing (the remainder neither agreeing nor disagreeing).
Moreover, requiring schoolchildren to participate in singing the National Anthem is sensible, as a formative experience for students and as an induction to citizenship.
It teaches them they belong to something larger than themselves, something to which all their classmates and teachers also belong.
These are the building blocks of social cohesion that have too readily been discarded and replaced, not only in schools but at public events, by divisive rituals that teach Australians to be ashamed of their history. Welcome to country ceremonies, where officiants stake a claim of moral ownership of the country, have become a form of “moral hectoring” that only serves to push people apart.
The cosmopolitan political elite, believing themselves to be global citizens, may not have a special attachment to Australia. But for most Australians, being Australian is all they know, and being told they do not belong to their own country is obviously going to cause problems. This is the context in which the booing during welcome to country ceremonies performed at 2026 Anzac Day services should be viewed.
In the typical public commentary about the National Anthem you are likely to encounter two main themes. The first is a pedantic objection to Advance Australia Fair’s lyrics as archaic or other complaints about its musical qualities. The second and more consequential theme is that Advance Australia Fair is a symbol of colonisation and its alleged exclusion of indigenous Australia is a problem to be solved. This argument, grounded in academic decolonisation theories, forms part of a greater attack on Australian history. It is in this tradition that welcome to country ceremonies belong, and helps explain why these ceremonies have taken the place of national anthems in many public places.
The National Anthem is a song – but it is much more than a song. Nowadays it is not unreasonable to disregard songs as products of a corporate entertainment industry, designed to be consumed, digested, and discarded, until a new song comes along. But songs are also critical stores of cultural information, capable of conveying stories or traditions or mythology about a society. Songs that have the quality of “unisonance” induce harmony, not only in the sound produced but among the people performing. National anthems and other patriotic songs are unisonant on a society-wide scale and help unify a nation.
As described in previous Institute of Public Affairs research essays, Australia Day: Why we celebrate 26 January, and The Flag for All Australians, the early colonial desire to unify around national traditions and symbols was evident in the early celebrations of Foundation Day, and the variety of flags and banners designed to represent the people of Australia. Colonial Australia striving to find and embrace patriotic songs tells a similar story. John Dunmore Lang’s early efforts for a nationalist song in Australian Anthem and Australian Hymn (1930s) did not last, nor did the efforts of Stephen Hale Marsh or Isaac Nathan. An 1850s competition by the Sydney Council of the Australasian League likewise did not produce a winner.
Advance Australia Fair was the first patriotic song to be widely accepted by the public. Building off the early colonial motto “Advance Australia”, Peter Dodds McCormick wrote his anthem as an uplifting and forward-looking tune reflecting the aspirations of Australians in that era. Some 99 years later Australians selected McCormick’s tune as the National Song. Seven years later it was made the National Anthem.
In times of social fracturing, the role of national symbols such as the National Anthem has obvious importance. The purpose of this research essay is to outline the history of Australia’s National Anthem, and how its unashamedly optimistic vision of the future of the country, rather than backwards navel gazing, is precisely the type of symbol Australians need right now.
You can now download In History’s Page – An anthem to unite Australians here.
