First 10 Australian songs inducted into the National Songbook after ‘very robust’ judging

Yothu Yindi’s Treaty, Midnight Oil’s Beds Are Burning and Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman are among the first songs to be honoured on new list that will grow every year

• Warning: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains images and names of Indigenous Australians who have died

Midnight Oil’s Beds Are Burning, Yothu Yindi’s Treaty and Helen Reddy’s I Am Woman are among the first 10 Australian songs to be inducted into the National Songbook – a new digital archive that celebrates and preserves songs that have shaped Australia’s national cultural identity.

Launched on Wednesday night at the National Film and Sound Archive (NFSA) in Canberra, the songbook is a joint initiative between NFSA and the music rights organisation Apra Amcos. The first 10 songs were selected by a panel of 11 music experts including broadcasters Richard Kingsmill and Zan Rowe, composer Cornel Wilczek and musician Mo’Ju.