As our students stood to sing the Australian anthem on the first (on campus) day of school, they sang the recently amended lyrics 鈥渨e are 鈥榦ne and free.鈥欌�� This change of words away from 鈥榶oung and free鈥� was made to recognise that Australia did not magically begin in 1788 when the white man landed in Botany Bay, but rather we are a country that has been inhabited for 65,000 years. The change of lyrics was both lauded and criticised by Indigenous leadership, some embracing the symbolic gesture, others declaring that it was a dangerous diversion away from the more important issues of including Indigenous voices in the Constitution and engaging in effective policy reform for Indigenous communities.

Philosophically, it seems that the words 鈥�we are one and free鈥� contain an inherent contradiction. Freedom is often thought to be synonymous with personal liberty; if I am to be free I am 鈥榦ne鈥� with myself, but not 鈥榦ne鈥� with another. Personal freedom cannot be bound to another鈥檚 destiny. 鈥榃e鈥� cannot be free, only 鈥業.鈥� And yet, our anthem now states that our freedom is not individual, it is collective, and freedom and unity coexist harmoniously.

If COVID has taught us anything, it is that personal freedom comes when we care about the freedom of others. Countries whose citizens are more concerned about personal liberties rather than communal health have not fared well over the past year. In Australia, where we act with responsibility towards one another and understand that our fates and fortunes are entwined with our neighbours and communities, most of us have endured only minor blips of inconvenience as we battle this invisible COVID enemy. The unity and generosity shown by the Perth community for the thousands affected by the bush fires was yet another example of the oneness that epitomises Aussie mateship.

Here too at Carmel we see, on a daily basis, the way in which our students strive for the collective good. One such example was students who last week printed out booklets and worksheets for friends who didn鈥檛 have a printer and ran it over to pop it in their letterboxes in time for the next lesson. Or our Year 12 students who understand that when they work together they will all do better in their ATAR exams. Oneness and freedom have been part of Carmel and the Perth Jewish community from well before the change of lyrics in our anthem. In our Carmel community, we have always and will always look after one another so each individual can thrive.

And so we see that the ideas of 鈥榳e are one and free鈥� is not dichotomous, but rather these ideas complete each other. Yes, we are a nation with a troubled past and we need to continue to work towards healing. And healing is best done when we take responsibility for each other鈥檚 destinies and work hand in hand towards a better future for all.