Australian Flag Debate - Does it reflect our Culture now?

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The Australian flag debate is a debate over whether the Australian flag should be changed in order to remove the Union Flag from the canton, often in connection with the issue of republicanism in Australia. This debate has come to a head at a number of occasions, such as the period immediately preceding the Australian Bicentenary in 1988, and also during the Prime Ministership of Paul Keating, who had publicly supported a change in the flag.

The case for changing the flag has been led by the organisation known as Ausflag. The organisation has not consistently supported one design, and is opposed to the Eureka Flag, but has sponsored a number of design competitions to develop alternative flag candidates.
Supporters of changing the flag typically make the following arguments:

The flag is not distinctive because it contains the national flag of another country in a position of prominence. In particular, the flag is difficult to distinguish from a variety of flags based on the British Blue Ensign, most notably the national flag of New Zealand and the state flag of Victoria. For example, the Australian Monarchist League, during their "no" campaign for the Australian republic referendum in 1999, mistakenly displayed the New Zealand flag instead of the Australian flag on one of their pamphlets.[1]

It does not accurately connote Australia's status as an independent nation. The Union flag at the canton suggests Australia is a British colony or dependency. New Zealand, Fiji and Tuvalu are the only other independent nations in the world to feature the Union Flag on their national flags. Other Commonwealth countries whose flags originally depicted the Union Flag, such as Canada, have since changed them, without becoming republics. The flag's colours of red, white and blue are neither Australia's official national colours (green and gold) nor its traditional heraldic colours (blue and gold).

In representing only Australia's British heritage, the flag is anachronistic, and does not reflect the change to a multicultural, pluralist society. In particular, the flag makes no mention of indigenous Australians, many of whom regard the Union Flag as a symbol of colonial oppression and dispossession.[2]

The current flag is historically not the prime national symbol. For most of the time since Federation, it was flown alongside the British Union Flag. The number of points of the stars have varied since 1901, and the current blue version was not officially adopted as the national flag until 1954. Before then, confusion reigned between whether the red or blue version was to be preferred, with the red often winning out.

It is spurious to claim that Australians have "fought and died under the flag", given that during most of the wars Australians have been involved in, they have usually "fought under" various British flags or the Australian Red Ensign.[3]. Prior to 1941 only 10 per cent of military ensigns were Blue and in 1945 Red ensigns were flown along the route of the official end of war parades.[4] The coffins of Australia's war dead were draped with the Union Flag.[5]

Although the flag was designed by four Australians, including two teenagers, and a man from New Zealand[6] and chosen in a public competition, it still had to be approved by the British Admiralty and King Edward VII.[7]

There are 53 countries in the Commonwealth of Nations — only five of them, including the United Kingdom, have the Union Flag in their own flag.

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• Australian Flag Debate
• Ray Martin
• Drew Innes
• republicanism in Australia
• Union Flag
• Ausflag
• Eureka Flag

[LiamUe]

@iLuvBarRefaeli

It was not almost the same .

It was our Crest. That is different from a collection of stars, no?

And it came in blue and red.

a lot of Canadians still use it.

a lot still use the Maple Leaf one too.

But that is full of Royal Connotations as well.

and the Union Flag is still one of Canada's official flags.

[LiamUe]

@donkeyrich

you're so melodramatic.

[LiamUe]

@donkeyrich

They're quite distinct:

if you can't tell the different between red stars and white ones, that isn't the country's problem;

The Aboriginals have a flag, yea?

Its in that video. Next to the State and Federal flag.

[donkeyrich]

we are a changed nation a multicultural nation do you really think that flag is going to serve us correctly in the next 100 yrs it's done and dusted people overseas still mistake it for other countries flags eg.neighbors nz most Australians barely bare that flag because of our identity crisis our indigenous people don't accept that flag and you mainly only see Caucasian people really carry that flag on Australian day they just can't seem to let go of Britain and be independent WAKE UP AUSTRALIA

[donkeyrich]

What a horrible past to remember The Brittish sent convicts here by the thousands and murdered raped enslaved then stole the indigenous peoples rightful land then the Brittish called for our diggers to go to fight in the wars and you say we fought for that flag rubbish it wasn't even official they still used the union jack instead in those days seriously hong kong, canada, south africa did the right thing scrap the jack and put a real aussie flag up something that is really australian not pommie

[AusOpinion]

We're not changing it mate. Fuck off if you don't like it.

Why don't you just "remove" yourself from the country. What is this drivel about the Dutch?

[iLuvBarRefaeli]

@wesnikki Like you said Hawaii is a state, Australia is a not a state its a country and is seperate from the UK. Australia should have changed their flag in like Canada did, it was almost the same but in red.

[AFFTL]

@HonestBloke Well Fuck off to Britain then if you like it so much, This is Australia not Britain we need a flag that represents us not another country.

[HonestBloke]

Yes what a great idea mate lets just get rid of more of our past. ill go 1 better. Get rid our our british system of goverment. Get rid of cricket. Get rid of rugby. Get rid of universal health care. Get rid of left hand drive. lets get rid of anything that the british bought with them to Australia even the nations name. Get rid of all the british names that our towns are named after. You may not like our past or be reminded of our past. BUT I DO.

[koorja1]

What a complete dickhead, he doesn't know what he's talking about. 'The traditional native aboriginal flage?' It's only been around since the seventies if that! By that reckoning our national flag holds 3X more traditonal than the aboriginal flag. Try again champ