Cultural Significance

From The Australian :

Prime Minister John Howard today said he resented moves to ban the singing of Waltzing Matilda at Rugby World Cup matches and encouraged Australians to belt out the tune.

At first I thought that this had to be a beat-up, a replay of Jim Hacker's refusal to Ban the British Sausage. But then I read this, from the ABC :

The Australian Rugby Union has asked the International Rugby Board to reconsider a reported decision to ban the performance of Waltzing Matilda at Australia's rugby World Cup games.

The IRB was reported to have banned the song from the official pre-match entertainment on the grounds that it had no major cultural significance.

I'm sure all Australians will treat this ruling with the respect it deserves.

"You tell someone not to do it in Australia and they'll probably do it twice as loud."

Well, yes. It's one of our funny little cultural traits, taking the piss out of complete wankers.