REVEALED: The first person Scott Morrison called after removing the phrase 'young and free' from the national anthem following claims it disrespected Aboriginal history
Scott Morrison called an Australian sporting legend just moments after the clock hit 12 on New Year's Day to tell her he had changed the words to the national anthem.
The prime minister immediately picked up the phone and called Olympic gold medalist and sporting hero Cathy Freeman to deliver the news in person.
The sprinting legend of the 2000 Olympics tweeted her astonishment at 2.38am on January 1 - before the New Year was even three hours old.
'What a way to start the year!!! A phone call from our Prime Minister to say we are 'one and free'! Thank you,' she tweeted.
Freeman, born in Mackay, Queensland, lit the flame at the 2000 Olympics and became the gold-medal champion of the 400m.
She is also a proud Aboriginal woman.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured December 21) called sporting legend Cathy Freeman, an Aboriginal woman, to tell her the anthem had been changed to honour Aboriginal people
Cathy Freeman carries the Aboriginal and Australian flags for a lap of honour at the 2000 Sydney Olympics after winning gold in the women's 400m sprint
Australian sporting legend Cathy Freeman was thrilled at getting the first phone call of 2021 from Prime Minister Scott Morrison after the anthem was changed
Cathy Freeman tweeted her surprised delight in the earliest first hours of 2021
Mr Morrison announced on New Year's Eve the words 'we are young and free' would be replaced by 'we are one and free' in the first verse of Australia's national anthem as of January 1.
Former journalist and senator Derryn Hinch tweeted his congratulations to Freeman, saying he had also been pushing for the change for more than a year.
Critics had argued the line was disrespectful to Aboriginal history as Indigenous people have been living in Australia for an estimated 60,000 years and have some of the oldest living cultures on earth.
Others said the line was not disrespectful as it referred to the Australian nation which was created on Federation day, January 1, 1901, and was therefore young.
New Year's Day, when the anthem was changed, was the 120th anniversary of the birth of Australia as a nation.
Some Aboriginal leaders were pleased at the inclusive gesture.
First Nations Foundation chairman and Yorta Yorta man Ian Hamm told the ABC the changed line was an important change 'to recognise in our national anthem the continued human occupation of this continent from 60,000 years plus to 1 January 2021, and beyond'.
NSW One Nation senator Mark Latham said the change wasn't needed.
NSW Senator Mark Latham said the change was not needed as Australia was federated only 120 years ago, and would not appease the activists who would never be satisfied
Famous journalist and former senator Derryn Hinch tweeted his support to Cathy Freeman saying he had been pushing for the lyric change also
One word of the anthem has been changed after critics argued Aboriginal people had been in Australia more than 60,000 years and their cultures were not young at all but ancient
Olivia Fox sings the national anthem during a Wallabies 2020 Tri-Nations match, December 5
'We were federated in 1901, 120 years ago today,' he said on New Year's Day.
'So we’re a young nation - and before that we were a series of colonies we weren't a nation. And before 1788 we had 170 indigenous tribes in Australia - and they didn’t have a conceptualisation of nationhood.'
Mr Latham said Aboriginal people did not think of themselves as a nation prior to colonisation, and that Scott Morrison was foolish for thinking the move would appease activists, who would never be satisfied.
It was not long before those words proved true.
Aboriginal boxer Anthony Mundine, who converted to Islam in the 1990s, immediately said the anthem was 'a white supremacist song' and the change was like a 'kick in the face'.
'It made me madder, you know what I mean - cause they ain't doin sh*t but talking sh*t,' he told A Current Affair.
Aboriginal people have lived in Australia for more than 60,000 years and have some of the world's oldest cultures. Pictured: Aborigines playing didgeridoo and clap sticks in Queensland
Aboriginal boxer Anthony Mundine, who converted to Islam in the 1990s, said the anthem was 'a white supremacist song' and insulted fellow Indigenous people who supported the change
Peter Vickery, from the Recognition in Anthem Project, who rewrote the line and lobbied for the change said he wanted more changes to verses 2 and 3
The outspoken athlete told Daily Mail Australia the entire anthem should be scrapped and turned his anger on Indigenous people who supported the change.
'Any blackfella who thinks what's been done is enough, and a good thing, is an Uncle Tom,' he declared, offensively.
An 'Uncle Tom' is a derogatory and racist phrase used against black people who are servile to white people.
Peter Vickery from the Recognition in Anthem Project who rewrote the line and lobbied for the change, called it a 'positive first step' but said he wanted more changes.
Mr Vickery wants changes to verses two and three, to celebrate multiculturalism and values.
NEW AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL ANTHEM
Australians all let us rejoice, for we are one and free;
We've golden soil and wealth for toil; Our home is girt by sea;
Our land abounds in nature's gifts Of beauty rich and rare;
In history's page, let every stage Advance Australia Fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing, Advance Australia Fair.
Beneath our radiant Southern Cross We'll toil with hearts and hands;
To make this Commonwealth of ours Renowned of all the lands;
For those who've come across the seas We've boundless plains to share;
With courage let us all combine To Advance Australia Fair.
In joyful strains then let us sing, Advance Australia Fair.