'Australia'

Replaces the title

'Advance Australia Fair'

'Advance' can mean, 'to raise to a higher rank' or 'to bring or move forward'. 'Advance' can also mean 'to accelerate the growth or progress of'. If the 'advancement' has been diligently analysed and is deemed to be on balance of benefit to the majority and any affected minority has been properly consulted, and if necessary compensated, then advancement is a good thing. However, 'advancement' may be ill conceived and it's impact not sufficiently understood. Where this is the case accelerating progress will only compound any problems and potentially be irreversible. An example is cancer which is just a normal healthy cell that has lost its connection with its fellow cells and is accelerating its growth to advance its own short term interests at the expense of the other cells and in the long term sowing the seeds of its own destruction.

Now let's look at 'Fair'. It can mean 'beautiful' or 'just'. However, 'fair' can also mean 'light coloured'. 'Beautiful' and 'just' are fine, but 'light coloured' has no place in a national anthem of a society that is genuine about valuing people for who they are and not what they look like.

Therefore, in combination the most negative interpretation of 'Advance Australia Fair' is the 'the selfish advancement of white or fair skinned Australians'. So, wherever this ambiguous phrase appears in the anthem, it has been deleted or replaced.

For another perspective on interpreting the words 'fair' and 'advance' in the Australian National anthem see the article by Christopher Kelen, How fair is fair?