To The Age Diana Snape wants "a new national anthem that unites us all" (27/6), but that is hardly likely to be found until a greater overall harmony of purpose exists among the people. At the moment radical activists in various ways are chipping away at our national unity. The current campaign to see "our First Nations people" over-promoted by constitutional recognition or a treaty is an example of this. So is Michael Mansell's misinterpretation of "Advance Australia Fair" as anti-Aboriginal (25/6). The truth is that the Whitlam ALP government did significant damage by seeking to replace "God save the Queen" with an alternative and then being unable to find a satisfactory new anthem that a convincing majority would endorse.
Nigel Jackson, Belgrave