Its Time for a Real Australian Flag

An opinion piece by Michael Heelan

We are Australian. We have a laid back, happy-go-lucky, colourful culture that is rich
and vibrant; it acts as our social cement. We represent our culture and our culture
represents us. Of course we are a nation of individuals, but a common belief, and
aspiration towards virtues such as tenacity and mateship binds our society together.
Universally, all nations use a rectangular piece of cloth adorned with colours and
symbols to represent their country and culture, a flag, for a huge variety of purposes,
such as at sporting or other international events, or to unite citizens and inspire
patriotism. Unfortunately Australia, as strong and as diverse as our culture is, does not
have a flag which accurately represents its people. It is not uniquely Australian, like the
Stars and Stripes is to America or the Union Jack is to Great Britain. To an uneducated
observer, our flag appears almost identical to the flag of New Zealand. Throughout the
past fifty years the New Zealand flag has been mistakenly raised for Australia at
International events a number of times, such as when former Prime Minister Bob
Hawke visited Canada in the 1980s. Our nationhood is screaming out for a flag the
says, loud and clear, Australia.
Our current flag has three
primary components, the most
important of which is the flag of
Great Britain. Former Prime
Minister Paul Keating is
famously quoted for saying I do
not believe that the symbols and
the expression of the full
sovereignty of Australian
nationhood can ever be
complete while we have a flag
The official flag of Australia since the 1950s
with the flag of another country in
the corner of it. Having the Union Jack on our
nations flag is a complete and utter disgrace. It signifies a country which is stuck in its
colonial past, subordinate to Britain. It portrays Australia as a dependent child, clinging
onto its mother rather than a fully grown and mature nation. The colours of our flag,
red, white and blue, are also the colours of the United Kingdom. A flag that truly
represents Australia must encapsulate our own culture, using our national colours of
green and gold.
The other two components of our flag, the Southern Cross and the Commonwealth
Star, only vaguely reflect our country as an independent nation; showing our
geographical position and nationhood, but neither our cultural values nor our traditions.

Australia is quickly looking to be the last nation on Earth to fly a defaced British colonial
ensign. New Zealand and Fiji are seeking to drop the Union Jack from their flag in
favour of something that truly represents their present and future, rather than their
past. All other countries in the Commonwealth except Tuvalu, which has a population
of 8,000, have adopted a flag which clearly portrays their independence and national
pride.
Before 1965, Canada had a
flag which is very similar to
Australias. It was derived from
the red British ensign and
featured a few vague
components which symbolised
Canada and its culture. 50
years ago, the people of
Canada decided that it was
time for their country to grow
up and adopt a flag that they
could truly call their own. A
vigorous selection process
was developed and heavy
scrutinisation of all proposed
flags was carried out, and
finally the people of Canada
decided on the Maple Leaf
amongst red and white as the
encapsulation of their culture
and people, to be presented to
the world as their own flag.
This change is widely
regarded as one of the most
important steps in Canadas
journey to full nationhood.
Even after dropping the Union
Jack, they have still retained
close links with Britain and
their constitutional monarchy.

The old flag of Canada - Notice any similarities to our

flag?

The advertisement below was

A true symbol of national pride
released by pro-new flag
organisation Ausflag, and
shows how other British
colonies have scratched their colonial ensigns in favour of something that truly
represents them. When will we grow up and do the same?

Australia, its time. Its time for us as a proud, independent nation to do away with a
flag with the flag of another country in the corner of it, displaying the national colours of
that country rather than our own. We need a symbol that represents us. The modern,
pluralistic society that we are today, not the British colony of yesterday. Its time for
change.

References:
- For general information: Ausflag, 2015. Why the Flag Should Change. [ONLINE]
Available at: http://www.ausflag.com.au/flag_should_change.asp [Accessed 19
October 15].
- For general information and the Our Own Flag infographic: Ausflag, 2015. Queen
Congratulates Canada on 50th Anniversary of Their Own Flag. [ONLINE] Available
at: http://www.ausflag.com.au/Queen-Congratulates-Canada-2-2015.asp [Accessed
19 October 15].
- For the Australian flag and the old and new flag of Canada: Wikipedia, date
unknown. Flag of Australia, Flag of Canada. [ONLINE] Available at: http://
www.wikipedia.org [Accessed 19 October 15]
- For the quote I do not believe that the symbols and the expression of the full
sovereignty of Australian nationhood can ever be complete while we have a flag with
the flag of another country in the corner of it: Wikipedia, 2015. Flag of Australia.
[ONLINE] Available at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_Australia [Accessed 19
October 15].