Gregalitopia: A new Aussie anthem

Dermot Daley offers a new national anthem and throws in his free blueprint for a democratic, independent, neutral and secular Republic of Australia.

ANOTHER AUSTRALIA DAY and it's great to see a resurgence of doubt over the wallowing dirge, 'Advance Australia Fair', that has been masquerading for too long as our national anthem.

We giggle at being 'girt by sea', while 'boundless plains to share' is a big white lie and no-one knows most of the words anyway.

Australia needs a new, simple, all-encompassing, fun-loving anthem that is so breezy we can all whistle to it.

It just so happens that I've got one right here in my back pocket ...

Gregalitopia

We are Australia

Island heart and home

Our land of timeless age.

Ours is our heartland

Ours is a smart land

Ours is the land of our dreams

We are Australia

Proud to be among you

We’ve grown out of our past.

Ours is a fair land

Ours is a free land

Ours is the land of our dreams.

We are Australia

A melting pot it’s true

We reached for a better world.

Ours is a just land

Ours is a vast land

Ours is the land of our dreams.

Come on folks. Australia needs to grow up. Let's become a Republic https://t.co/6xrCjdQcTU Sign the petition & keep agitating #AusRepublic
— Stephen Koukoulas (@TheKouk) January 22, 2016

I don't know how to write musical annotation, but I can whistle it readily. It’s quite a toe-tapper and one that could surely be heard from outer space if it was to be taken up by 100,000 voices at The G.

But the really good thing about this anthem is that it comes with a free roadmap for Australia to find its place in the big wide world again.

Our most direct route to moral and ethical credibility in the global community is DINSRA — the Democratic, Independent, Neutral, Secular Republic of Australia.

1. Democratic

The first notable landmark to observe will be to reinstate democracy. True democracy, such as that born out of the American and French revolutions, is founded on equality, fair play and liberty. However, it is a travesty that the concepts of democracy and free enterprise have, since the latter part of the 20^th century, been hijacked by the cannibalistic ideology of capitalism.

The farcical U.S. court ruling that ‘a corporation is a person’ has demonstrated that the law can indeed be an ass. Having no boundaries, corporations with wealth exceeding the gross national product of many state economies, are free to rape and plunder and dictate terms that benefit their stockholders while stealing from the disenfranchised citizens of the land.

Capitalism, when driven by rogue amoral corporations, has only one objective — to return a profit at any cost. Capitalism, aided by corrupt governments, launders criminal activity in many forms. But by making informed choices, Australia’s citizens can demand integrity from elected representatives so that they act for all rather than those who line up to line their pockets. Ideally and conceivably, Australia can inspire and work with other national governments to reclaim ownership of the fundamentals of democracy and free enterprise.

2. Independent

The second crossroad to negotiate is that Australia establishes its independent sovereignty. Our historical alliances need to be revisited to establish their relevance to Australia’s future role in our region and in the world community. Australia must be – and be seen to be – truly independent in our relations with all other stakeholders in global well-being and security.

Guess who’s turning 25? We are! Here’s hoping we don’t need to be around for our 30th. #ausrepublic #auspol pic.twitter.com/ub4D8r0etZ
— ARM (@AusRepublic) January 12, 2016

3. Neutral

The third turning point is to affirm our nation as a neutral and peaceful country. Rushing into war is not always in the nation’s best interest, as was exemplified when (en)titled relatives from England and Germany had a tiff in 1914 and thrust the world into a brutal war that caused the loss of life of more than sixty thousand young Australians. And again when we rushed into the deceitful incursion into Iraq in 2003 to appease an emotionally undeveloped daddy’s boy from Texas, sowing seeds of resentment in many young Muslims towards Western values and subsequently unleashing Islamic State upon the world.

It is the informed Australian people, not hypnotised politicians and lapdogs, who must decide when to fight and what to fight for.

4. Secular

The fourth speed-hump on our path is to separate religion from the State. Australia must present itself as a secular nation. This does this not mean that religion is to be banned; indeed all and anyone will be free to practice their personal faith with like-minded others within their community. However, they will not be free to impose their values upon anyone else.

It is imperative that the State is not seen to express or support any form of religious observance in any public sphere (including special treatment for traditional holy days). Furthermore, every religious enterprise must pay proper taxes on its income and assets. There can be no exceptions. Charities associated with religious institutions, along with existing secular charities, may be granted appropriate tax concessions but in each case this status will need to be accountable at an annual audit of declared "objectives and outcomes".

5. Republic

The final turn on the road to recovery is that Australia steps out of the shackles of colonialism and establishes itself as a free-standing republic with a relevant Australian-made Constitution that embodies the objectives outlined above. It will include a bill of rights that guarantees freedom of speech, recognises the relationship of the land within traditional Indigenous culture and enshrines the principles of equality, fairness, and democratic co-operation.

The Republic of Australia will require a new flag – possibly the existing blue with Southern Cross – but with a red Federation Star replacing the Union Jack in the upper left corner. The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island flags can continue to be be raised anywhere in Australia, just as State flags will continue to have their place.

In the democratic, independent, neutral, secular Republic of Australia, people will be encouraged to work to the best of their abilities, whether they be teachers, accountants, nurses, bankers, police officers, garbage collectors, farmers, doctors, plumbers, journalists, engineers, politicians, shopkeepers, finance advisors, land developers and so on — everyone!

This revolutionary concept may initially frighten some who feel more entitled than others; however, when everyone is singing in tune, the harmony will become apparent.

We can stop being lazy and stupid and demonstrate that we are a clever country.

We can stand up and resist the corruption and greed that is stealing the resources of future generations and unreasonably turning this Garden of Eden, this Spaceship Earth, into an ugly trailer-trashed wasteland.

Now that the "Bogan" King is gone, we do not have to remain a "bogan" nation.

Now we can democratically insist that the "new boy" follows this basic guide with its associated flow-on benefits of sensible international relations and its inclusive policies on education, health and the environment, to steer Australia into a sustainable future.

So there you go, I’ve tried to do my bit, so go out there and sing the Australian Anthem as loud as you can and set about rebuilding Australia as a solid nation.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License