Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton says he is "not opposed" to a word change in the national anthem but says there is a lot more Australians should be worried about in the name of reconciliation.
Sporting legend and one of Australia's most respected indigenous voices Cathy Freeman has supported the idea of changing a word in Advance Australia Fair to appease those who believe the anthem is disrespectful.
In the first verse, "we are young and free" would become "we are one and free".
Many voices in the Indigenous community have said the line "young and free" ignores the country's 60,000-year pre-European Indigenous history
Cathy Freeman voiced her support for changing the national anthem. Source: AAP
"I'm not opposed to it ... if that provides comfort to people," Mr Dutton told 2GB on Thursday.
"I don’t know whether it starts a slippery slope if people want to change other parts or if people want to drop off other verses.”
He said Cathy Freeman was one of the "greatest Australians" and was not given enough recognition for what she had done helping Indigenous kids in her post-sporting career.
"I really think that should be recognised and I think her views should be respected," he said.
His comments come after the anthem was not sung at the Indigenous and Maori rugby league all-stars match last weekend.
Indigenous players also refused to sing the national anthem in game one the State of Origin series last year.
Mr Dutton expressed his annoyance with sporting stars taking a stance on social issues during their playing career.
“It annoys me beyond description when you see…athletes representing our country, footballers and whatever code, it doesn’t matter. They’re standing up there representing their country and refuse to sing the national anthem. I think it’s an outrage,” he said.
Mr Dutton is not the only conservative MP to say they're open to changes to the national anthem.
Latrell Mitchell (left) Josh Addo-Carr (centre) and Cody Walker look on during the national anthem during Game 1 of the 2019 State of Origin series. Source: AAP
Liberal backbencher Craig Kelly has expressed his support to change the lyric referring to "young and free".
"If these gentlemen said [they] would be happy to sing the national anthem with changing that one word, I think a lot of Australians would sit down and they would say, OK let's change that word," Mr Kelly told the ABC in June.
"Let's sing, 'We are strong and free' and let's all get on and make sure we are, as the anthem says, Australians all."
Mr Dutton said he would much prefer the focus to be on how to improve the lives of Indigenous kids.
"There are boys and girls who are being sexually assaulted in Aboriginal communities today," Mr Dutton said.
"I just think there is a lot more to do and there's a lot more that we can do as a country."
