The lyrics of Australia’s national anthem have been altered by one word to recognise the country’s Indigenous history, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Thursday.

Until Friday, the song began: “Australians all let us rejoice, for we are young and free.” But as the country celebrated the beginning of the new year, the “young” was dropped. The anthem now describes the country as “one and free”.

“Australia as a modern nation may be relatively young, but our country’s story is ancient, as are the stories of the many First Nations peoples whose stewardship we rightly acknowledge and respect,” Morrison wrote in The Sydney Morning Herald. “Changing ‘young and free’ to ‘one and free’ takes nothing away, but I believe it adds much.”