Young and free – but who’s Gert?

The Premier of New South Wales has suggested that one word of our national anthem should now be changed to reflect a more united community.  

Replace ‘young’ with ‘one’, Gladys Berejiklian suggested and most would agree with her as the national birth rate keeps dropping, despite former Treasurer Costello’s plea to have on for mum and one for dad and one for the country.   

But if we’re not ‘young’ or getting younger, so why not substitute just the one word?  

Well, I’d go further. Republicans and people generally anti-British in attitude have sneered, riled and mocked the word ‘girt’.  

So why not do away with that as well, an archaic Anglo-Saxon word loaded with unfortunate antecedents and open…