Do we need a new Australian flag? | National News | Breaking National News in Australia

Why do we want to become a republic?
Name a country that has prospered after leaving the commonwealth in the last 100 years?
It is ridiculous that this nation would rather reject all of its heritage, all so some two bit celebrity can say " I object to having the British flag in the corner of our flag" A flag which many a father, grandfather and great grandfather have died under.

We had already had a referendum on this 10 years ago, the answer was NO. So what just keep having referendums until you get your own way. Stupidity.

Further more if you have a new referendum and what will happen if its a 51-49 spilt. You'll have a nation that is divided. This is the worst thing that could ever happen. Then what we'll have a single president system like the USA. Being that that system was only formed after a bloody war of independence. We one mar being commander and chief? Is that what this nation really wants?

Leave the flag alone. Long live the Queen

Agreed leave the flag alone, this long on-going arguement about people dying under the flag versus the Queen etc, just get over it.

Leave it alone and just appreciate where you live!

We do not need a new flag. Thousands of men and women have fought under this flag so please leave it as it is.

Also a new flag would cost millions as everything that has our flag on it would need to be changed.

I LOVE our flag so PLEASE keep your mitts of it....

As an experienced journalist, Martin should know that a change should be accompanied / driven by a valid reason.
What would be the purpose of having a new flag? What benefit would it bring to the country?
Does he know that the US State of Hawaii has the Union Jack in it, and the Hawaiians don't seem to mind. They relish their historical links to England and Captain Cook.

who cares if the british flag is in the corner! This has been our flag for so long, and as previous posters mentioned, our great grandparents fought under this flag!
I think I speak for most Australians when I say WE LOVE OUR FLAG! LEAVE IT BE!

Ray Martin is obviously some form of progressive.
Every year we celebrate Australia Day these nerds turn up like a bad smell to stir the pot.
Our flag reflects our history whether he likes it or not.
Maybe Martin is ashamed of our flag. I do know that English folk who have chosen to live here are not referred to, and don't class themselves as, English Australians.Unlike other immigrants that use their country of birth as a prefix, we are just Australians,we love our flag and reject Martin and Co's limp wristed efforts to change for change sake.. This flag changing nonsense is quite childish and demonstrates an immaturity that resides in some of our so called Australian elite.

Perhaps Ray Martin could pay for the unnecessary new flag he craves? There is no reason to change it

Much like the referendum this is not the time to be wasting money that is sorely needed for a miriad of other problems Australia is currently facing

I wonder if Ray Martin would be happy telling sick people that can't get care in our failing health system that he is sorry but it was more important to have a new flag than treat sick people...or tell the children having trouble reading that it was more that we become a republic.

The "Australian Elite" see this as another oppertunity to be like America. I wonder if Ray Martin fancies himself as Australia's first President waving a flag with his face in the corner? Its a pitty we can't say " I find Ray Martin Offensive" and have him removed from public life.

Ray must me in desperate need of some publicity.
Everything has already been said, but I do think that this statement by Ray Martin shows a complete lack of respect for or anyone that has died or is presently fighting under this flag. Just like so many out there who just want to cancel out nearly 200yrs of Australian history and start from scratch with a new flag, I say get your nose back into your Australian History books and be proud to be an Australian on Australia Day.

trex.

we have this every Australia day some well known person raves on about changing our Australian flag. I think it is just big notting yourself as they have nothing else to do.
Why? this is part of our history the union jack in the corner is part of our history so what benifit is there by changing it. LEAVE OUR AUSTRALIAN FLAG ALONE

Australia should become its own sovereign nation and it’s earned its right to do so. We wasted enough lives because of England. Royalists will never change their mind because they’re stuck in some sort of sick medieval cocoon thinking that somehow these royals in England are of some sort of pure bloodline.

Well this misbegotten tradition is nothing more than a tokenistic fraud and is basically an idol worshipping habit. They’re blinded by the truth that the so-called royal family is actually noble which is far from the truth if they’d ever bother to do some of their history research.

In fact the whole composite of royal family members over the years has been nothing more than a collection of misfits that society has for simplistic reasons accepted as being their roll models. They aren’t special, they’re not of any pure blood, they’re not perfect, and in fact they are just a collection of absolute scamming misfits that people support like some poor television soap opera.

They are indeed a dying tradition and rightly so because they serve no purpose and are definitely of no example of some sort of higher order within our society.
If it were I, I put them all on the dole and stop Australia making any further payments to them. Lets just keep them as a bad part of our history. Yes we need a new flag and one that has nothing to do with the so-called motherland.

Many people that died under this flag unfortunately were sacrificed under false pretences by sending our troops into suicidal situations and were used as body fodder for extreme views held by English political leaders as we are still doing in Iraq and Afghanistan today. The problem is many people believe whatever they’re told and they haven’t got the nous to think for themselves. The politicians got it wrong then and they’re still getting it wrong today.

The Australian is part of our history and brings the nation together. This is the flag draped over the coffins of those killed serving the country. The three crosses stand for ST George(England)ST Patrick(Ireland)ST Andrew(Scotland) The alternative was the French Flag Ray Martin and crowd with their anti British bigitory are the real racists and are anti Australian.

Picman2, if you think the Australian military is in Iraq and Afghanistan today because of the Royal family or our English ties then you truly have your head in the sand.

I agree in principle about everything you have written about the Royal family, but truly you are missing the point if you believe people want to keep the flag because of this link, the issue is about what the flag means to us, what it has represented for us in the past and helped shape our identity.

When I look at our flag I dont even recognise the union jack being there, I simply see the symbol of our country, and if someone wants to change this they are ripping our identity away and changing our country for the worse, something I dont want to see.

There is no need to change our flag, if it good enough to fight for/under it is good enough to retain for all time. However if we must change it, why not change to the bicenntenial flag - map of all of Australia ( including Tasmaina) and in our offical colours of GREEN & GOLD.

I suppose this is where I differ from many as I see the symbolist Australian flag as clearly being part of a monarchy that we are still meant to follow to this day.

The sacrifices made were made by good men and women living in this free country of ours and I believe if at the end of it we still haven’t earned our freedom we never will.

Every time I see this Australian flag it reminds of the many injustices Australians were put through by the monarchy and political system establishment born there from.

Australia is now a multicultural nation and it should stand on its own two feet and stand up for what it believes in rather than be guided by our misbegotten past of the monarchy and their political system establishment. Our existing flag will always stand for that system.

Changing the flag is not about racism as it’s about freedom, the freedom to choose our own destiny now and into the future. No longer to be yes men to a system that we really haven’t been a part of for many years. Why should we be slaves and be permanently branded with an insignia from our past history.

If we were all to live our lives from past historic events then the English flag should say have a roman component on it, or the Australian flag a Dutch component on it, and the American flag an English component and so. As history changes so does the need for each country to take hold of its own destiny.

Yes many Australians have a strong bond to the Australian flag because many of their relatives died fighting under it. But lets hope they didn’t die in vain and that they’d want to see a free Australia rather than a country holding on to some outdated belief.

I think it’s actually insulting to salute to a flag for beliefs that we no longer have in our hearts. We don’t live for King and country anymore and we have our direction now and should advance toward that.

Yes - Lets keep our Colonial flag it fits our colonial mentality - we have just changed from being a British Colony to being a US colony - we are incapable as a nation of being self reliant. We dutifully go off to help them fight their crazy wars and pay for the privileged. Why must we continue to be Sepoys for Empire?

Now the Current flag was "Officially" introduced By Robert Menzies in 1953 - before that the Red Ensign was in general use and it was that flag that most Australians fought and died under - not the Blue Colonial flag. Red was the colour of the Empire but Menzies had a problem with the "Reds" - so if you want the flag that your grandfathers died under you should be supporting the RED ensign not the Blue Ensign. Australians have only died under the Blue ensign fighting the wars of the American Empire.

if we do change it, could we change it to a big VB beer bottle please ?

you have done a good job stirring up the pot on this one ray and as far as coming a republic it will never happen while a political party want to place one of there tired old hasbeen hacks as president , and as for the flag its the one i served under and i wonder if any of rays relations did??

Keep the flag. Lets promote Great britain every time we fly it! The problem is we have left it to late. We should have changed our flag at the same time as Canada. Now we will forever have the whole 'fought under the current flag debate'. Thanks god the younger generation will eventually get rid of the irrelevant royal family and England by becoming a republic. Millions of dollars saved by having no govenor general or state govenors. Roll on the republic and get rid of the union jack I say.

The Queen is so unbelievably irrelevant it isn't funny. Why are Monarchists so hellbent on supporting the ruling "elite" classes?

I just wish they'd change that ridiculous dark green one day cricket uniform... how drab and boring they make the game to watch... and hot in the sun no doubt... almost military in fashion....

playing Pakistan who also wear dark green..... derrrrrrrr..

our national sporting uniform is like a flag to represent us.... and perhaps easier to change by public opinion...
than a national flag....

maybe we should have an understanding that all of our national flags.. MUST be made in Australia....

the plethora of Japanese cars driving around with their cheap chinese made flags flying from both sides is a great statement of empire, eh?...
maybe we should add all our "masters" flags around the outer edge of ours... to represent all those we serve...

in this new world order...

The Aussie flag is made up of the Scottish and English flags with the Southern Cross and a symbolic star that represents all the states, etc.

I, for one vote to leave it unchanged - I am proud of our Aussie heritage, and in these uncertain times, I feel somewhat comforted knowing that we are part of the commonwealth of nations.

The Aussie flag is also a symbol that brings remembrance of our forefathers who laid down their lives that we may prosper in a free and equitable nation. Without the efforts of those brave souls, we would not have the luxury of the debate.

What options are there anyway - no doubt someone will propose something that reflects the modern societal demographic - and when that changes will we need another referendum to change the flag again?

To pickman 2.
We have changed the Australian currency, we have changed the National Anthem, and now you want to change the Australian flag. All we have to do after that is change the name of Australia and none of us will be able to relate to anything.

I have a suggestion for people who love change so much. Why not change everything Australian on a regular basis, say every year, so we don't get too accustomed to it. We could have Wattles on the flag this year, Frill Neck Lizards next year, and maybe in a 100 yrs or so, we will have nothing to celebrate except change itself. Australia Day can just become obsolete as there will be nothing to relate to or even be proud of anymore. Maybe after that we can press a button and delete any history that doesn't fit in with our taste buds.

If you dislike the Royal Family so much? Why don't you make a complaint or press delete and I am sure they will make an effort to oblige.

trex.

We need to get a Flag that is trully Australian, not a part British flag, get rid of the Union Jack, if anything sshow our heritage it should be the Aboriginal flag. Australia was not DISCOVERED BY CAPTAIN COOK, IT WAS INVADED. We need togrow up as a nation and not let the dooms dayers dictate that the world will end if we change our flag. Good on you Ray Martin for being a true Australain!

I am all for Australia becoming a republic however, I don’t see why we would need to change the flag. We have had it for a long time so keep it.

Wrong.
There is no reference to St Patrick,its St David (Welsh)
Just shows how mis-informed some of you royalists are..

Get rid of the flag, piss off the Royals and Britain and all the way on a republic. Time this country stood on its own two feet.

colnna,

Queenslanders don't give a XXXX for VB.

How about we compromise and go for a bundy rum polar bear in the corner instead?

But seriously, these people who want to change history, go get a time machine and stop bugging those of us who live here today.

Leave the flag alone.
Ray martin go and do something constructive for a change

Our flag is great, though should the pollies in all their infinite wisdom decide we need a new one. We should take the Union Jack out, (Though Long live the queen).
Instead of the union Jack we should have the Australian Coat of Arms in it's place. Their are groups on certain websites, (No details given) that want us to use the Aboriginal Flag in place of the union jack. That would then meant the Aboriginals have two flags and Australia is then going to do what??? Listen to the Elders, HUH.
No I am not racist but if people want to change the flag then they will have to fly only one and not both flags and that could lead to controversy.
Thanx for your time in reading this.
Please let me know what your thoughts are on my opinion if you have one about what I have just typed for you all to Read.
Long Live the Queen.
GOD BLESS AUSTRALIA.
AUSSIE AUSSIE AUSSIE...OI OI OI!!!

@ rockdoc...

Closely based on a design dating back to 1901, the blue ensign has been used for military establishments since 1908, as a replacement for the union jack. From 1911 it has been the saluting flag of the Australian army.

Officially, the red ensign was for use by private citizens, local & state government - not the military.

Indeed our men and women did die under the blue ensign.

As a nation, the blue ensign came into prominence in 1940 when the Victorian government passed legislation for the private purchase of the blue ensign.

In 1950 the blue ensign was proclaimed as the national flag by Menzies, and approved by King George VI in 1951. The blue ensign was formally given national flag status in 1953 coinciding with Queen Elizabeth II's visit to Australia.

I think the Commonwealth and the Queen of the UK are irrelivant for a modern independant Australia. We should become a republic like Canada did many years ago. Having a new flag would also be a good thing. We need something that better reflects the multicultural country we have become today. Our present flag would mean little to non British migrants who become Australian citizens. The Union Jack probably holds some bad memories for our indigenous Australian of years of oppression. When Kevin Rudd made his historic appology to indiginous Australians it was the beginning of change. We need to make those changes by becoming a modern independant republic nation with a new flag that reflects more what we are today than what we have been.

Ray Martin, you are so "yesterday'!

If you want to have so much to say about the running of this country, why don't you run in the political arena.

It is the best way to have your say and make your point, if it is valid.

Or you could start a reality cooking show.

By the way, at this point 68% like our flag.

I do think we could do with a new anthem.
I'll just bet we could come up with some great songs that could do the honour of representing Australia.

Imagine at the next Olympics if they
played, 'Thunderstruck" or "Eagle Rock" or "Working Class Man." Or even "Raining On The Rock".
How about "Give Me A Home Among The Gum Trees"
"My Boomerang Won't Come Back". "Tie Me Kangaroo Down Sport".............the list goes on.................

It was good enough then, and it's good enough now. As for the multicultural angle - if you don't like it, then bugger off back to where you came from.
What the hell is the point of changing things just for the hell of it? Is a new flag going to make the country any better than it is now ...no. It's going to cost millions of dollars to facilitate and at the end of the day absolutely nothing will have changed.
As for the republicans that are all bleating that this will be a change for the better - why don't you bugger off to the USA where you belong, where the healthcare is in a worse state than ours and the currency is falling like a wounded duck - that's your precious republic in action.
Our constitutional monarchy is serving us perfectly. Our Prime Minister might be a bit of an idiot, but at the end of the day the system works good enough so leave it alone.
Long live the Queen.

We talk about our fore fathers fighting & dying under the current Australian Flag? Wrong! Have a look at any WW1 or WW2 pictures & all you see is the good old union jack which is the one they died under!!!
Canada has the maple leaf, we have the Red Kangaroo on our ships & planes which is known all over the world as Australia. Put the Australian Flag up against the NZ flag & ask someone else in the world to pick the Australian flag & they would wonder who is who but put the Canadian flag up & they would know straight away who it belong to???
Its about time that we have something that we are known by?? Republic is another story?
Stand up Australians, & get the jack the boot & no to all the way with the USA
We CAN have the southern cross, we can have a red Kangaroo, we could even have a boomerang on it.
Something like which is on the badge on the Aust Army Hat. Have something Australian for once instead of the old bow & scrape, Yes Sir, three bags full SIR!

No no no colnna Queenslanders would have to have a giant XXXX bottle so that would mean a flag for each state gee whiz that's an idea let's change the state flags too.....
Leave the flag alone.....

most british (that I know) would agree with you. Why forsake your cultural history, which has been both and good and bad, and is so for most nations. Smacks of inferiority, I just spent a year on the coast and am amazed how everything is labelled as 'australian' or 'un-australian' (if something is unfair). Most other nations , other than the US feel no need to use such prefixes in everyday talk.

Exactly the same happened in Canada when they changed their flag to the maple leaf.

All the same arguments were put forward. All the same reasons on here today.

Today they are as proud of their flag as anyone could be.

People just don't like change.

Although our anthem is not the best there are plenty of people who would have preferred to STILL be singing God Save The Queen.

Change WILL come...it just takes time!

The monarchy is not a policy, like deregulating (or re-regulating) the labour market. As an issue, support (or opposition) for the monarchy is not especially amendable to logical argument. The argument for the monarchy depends on respect for tradition, loyalty, continuity. The monarchy depends on a preference for things that have stood the test of time and an instinct that this generation is unlikely to be so much wiser than any of its predecessors. The monarchy depends on a sense of living history told and lovingly retold, not because people are dwelling in the past but because they understand that all our yesterdays shape all our tomorrows.

A monarch who reigns but does not rule; a dignitary famous for being rather than doing; a potentate who exercises no power; the paradoxes of the monarchy are reminders that life is more than the urgent simplicities of a budget bottom line, catchy slogan or logical conclusion. In its grand ceremonies, sense of mystery and even consoling fictions, the monarchy can be a numinous symbol of order and value in a difficult world. The reasons for retaining the monarchy resemble the reasons for keeping Federation houses and old-growth forests -- hard to explain to some but they tug at the heart.

If Australia will only be truly independent and mature as a republic, what does that say about us now? Why has this generation alone (and then only in republican part) had the wit to grasp this allegedly self-evident point? Republicans are surprisingly oblivious to Burke's description of society as a "partnership between the living, those who are dead, and those who are yet to be born." No less than Burke's generation of Britons, this generation of Australians is part of a communion that stretches beyond the grave.

We do not know our forebears and they certainly did not know us, yet there's an important sense in which they lived for us and we flourish because we build on their work. This is the social alchemy by which the Aboriginal dreaming no less than Shakespeare and the crown has become part of the cultural inheritance of every Australian.

"Our constitutional monarchy is serving us perfectly".

Ha ha haaaaa ! That's the best joke I've heard in ages. It'll keep me smiling all day.

Good on you, whoray46 !

68% of the people who read this article and who then chose to "vote" is not representative of anything whatsoever (although I could suggest a few things). To pretend that it is - is just plain misleading.

I love my country and love my flag. I would love a flag that was more in keeping with the country I know and love. I am not in favour of a flag that is heavily biased towards any select group. I would not be keen on the indigenous flag and I am not enamoured with the union jack either. I like the idea of green and gold with a southern cross. Countries change flags to signify growth.

With everything we need to do in this country we have to have this annual debate about our flag. I watched the 7pm Project last night and saw the story of a young disabled man trapped in an aged care home becasue we have no suitable facilities for him and thousand like him. No change there but we are willing to spend millions again on debating the flag.
A flag does not change a country, people change a country so how about we stop all the talking and all the summitts and get on with fixing things.
To those who say change takes time, may I suggest some people have never accepted the change in 1953.

I think Ray's indigenous heritage may be part of his reasoning. Also to the people who are babbling on about the monarchy they are on the wrong track also. It is more to do with the "Westminster System" which has worked very well so far, so "if it aint broke" don't try to fix it.
President Rudd (our great saviour) is powerful enough at this stage so lets not give him any more power than he already has.

To Craig-Palmwoods
Re buggering off the where I came from if I don't like the flag. Maybe you should try that.
I am a multi-generation Anglo-Welsh heritage Australian - so don't tell me to bugger off.
When we had Passports that said we were British Subjects and Australian citizens - certainly in the 1960's. The Monarchy and the Imperial/Colonial flag may have has some relevance.
I am an Australian first and foremost - what I would like to see is that our symbols and government represent Australia as a nation - not our colonial or Imperial past.
Then you could go to Britain and expect preferential entry - just try doing that now and see how far your British heritage will get you.
Respect the past , by all means but do not continue to hang onto Mothers apron strings. That is NOT what the diggers died for - they had more self respect.

Why do we need to change the flag? This is our flag. The world recognises this as the Australian flag. I think we will become a republic one day but I'd still like to keep the flag. How the hell would we agree on a new one?

as far as i am concerned the queen dont care about us we were sent here to die and when we make a BLOODY good country she wants to claim us again go to hell.......

The Flag!!! A symbol of our ancestry!!! The UNION JACK is a make up of two original country`s England and Scotland to cover the UNION of these two nations on one land mass under one banner!!! Of these two nations the british empire was born and have endured a bond over the centurys showing that standing together is more enriching than fighting each other!!! It is from these two nations / one actual empire that AUSTRALIA has become a nation of its own and a member of this union not just because of politics and the monarchy but of ancestry and their efforts to blaze forward and build a country!!! To change our country`s symbolic sign as a connection to this...............
You may as well desecrate some of of your ancesters graves!!! Happy demolishion!!!

Do you honestly believe that the future younger generations are going to give anything about a flag or whether or not this country is a republic or not? As long as there's someone running this country one or the other, they dont give a toss. These days PM's run this country anyway. What does the royal family do for us, other than taking our taxes? They dont make important decisions that directly impact our country. Our government and PM do...

One day this country will be a republic, there's no escaping it. Kids these days aren't as patriotic as the older generations are. So when we turn into a republic, the flag will change as well. "Big deal!" they'll say.

"Big deal!" I say.

The wit and wisdom of the Coast. Classic.

'Ray Martin is obviously some form of progressive.'

The ultimate insult.

'Change WILL come...it just takes time!'

And courage.

'It was good enough then'

So was horse transport and black and white TV.

Ohhhhh, I just LOVE Broelman's cartoon in today's Daily! Bogan Day!

And the one on Sunday of Dougie being welcomed into heaven by Steve was very special too.

Why don't we have the cartoon online, Ed?

Ray the galoot from Gunnedah has been a died in the wool socialist as long as I can remember and has done b--all for this country .He,like Krudd who bragged to the Queen in 2008 and his great kindred spirit of Republican insurgency fame,Turnbull,have waited and watched for any opportunity to" Quisling"our great country with the aid of their imported votes and our knowledge deprived young.
My friends and I who like many generations served under this flag have sworn,as soldiers,to PROTECT our flag ,our ways AND our constitution. We are definitely NOT republican insurgents,nor avid Royal Family,BUT WE REMAIN LOYAL TO OUR OATH>

Hello, Australia is not 200 years old nor is its history, it is thousands of years old. When will Aboriginal Australia be represented on our flag? Only then will it be a true Australian flag...der. Of course it should be changed, if we stick with things for the sake of not changing it, where would we be?

Graftonguy . Well said and I was proud to read it.

Neal Maclean

Yeah,but don't overlook the fact that Canadians were forced to the change by the multitude of Frenchies in their eastern provinces,soit settled for red and white.They left the blue out to avoid it being called the tricolour.

The Australian Flag came into being after federation on 1 January 1901, but it was not given Royal assent and adopted as the definitive Australian flag until 1954.
There were no Australian Citizens until 1946, just British Subjects. The White Australia Policy constrained ethnic diversity until at least 1966 and Aborigines remained ineligible for citizenship until after the referendum of 1967.
Menzies was never going to consider a national lag without the Union Jack in it any more than Howard was up for a referendum on a popularly-elected head of state, but that doesn't take these issues off the agenda forever.
What's put the flag back on the reform agenda in recent years is its appropriation by Anglo xenophobes as a badge of exclusivity.

This is a huge huge distraction.

Not only that, consider the cost associated with this distraction. The amount of water cooler time, cafe latte time, lost productivity - pages of wasted time and money.

Not for a moment is the issue of a new Flag unimportant. It is important - obviously to those so emotionally wrapped up in the issue. No I am not going to knock them. Good on them!

But Can we get some priorities sorted first please.

For Many; they would rather debate the merits or otherwise of 2 Levels of Government before they even consider New Flags or the notion of a Republic.

What tangible, bottom line, benefits are there if we have a New Flag. Same question for the Republic? We may feel good about it; well some of us may - the rest will be mightily miffed.

No referendum on this before we have a referendum and/or debate on the merits of 2 levels of Government in this Country. At least that proposition has the distinct possibility of saving us huge tax dollars and delivering more effective and uniform/consistent services. Don't confuse 2 levels of Government with taking accountability away from where it should be. Accountability and the management of services need to be as close as possible to the point of delivery.

Ray (Martin) you really need to wake up, get your priorities right and be a bit more responsible. We have far more pressing crisis at hand than a Flag issue.

And at no point do any of us wish to ignore, deny, disrespect the true owners of this Country - yes the Aboriginals. That is a whole other debate where you may be surprised at just how supportive many Australians are of Aborginal causes and rights.

It may never come again - so it would be bad form of me to not say - Peter Baulch, I agree with you, largely (it's always been on the agenda - just more so now).

"...a badge of exclusivity"... just like a swastika.

On it's inception in 1901, here is what The Bulletin had to say about the new flag -

"...a staled réchauffé of the British flag, with no artistic virtue, no national significance... Minds move slowly: and Australia is still Britain's little boy. What more natural than that he should accept his father's cut-down garments, - lacking the power to protest, and only dimly realising his will. That bastard flag is a true symbol of the bastard state of Australian opinion".

And so very much more true now than it was then...

The US, UK, JAPAN or China say jump - and we just say, "Yes sir. How high?".

We must have the weakest government on planet Earth.

Many thousands of Australian have fought for our freedom under this banner.This is our flag and it should remain our flag in honour of all those who fought and fell under it.
If Ray Martin.whoever he is,doesn't like the flag he should feel free to go and live somewhere else and take all his suporters with him!

to sawdust,for your information our national colour is blue and gold, green and gold is our alternate colour used in sporting fields when another nation has blue and gold.
for misschief, the pm,it is NOT his government it is our government,he isonly there till we vote him out.
To all those who think that we should follow the USA forget it look at how they stuffed up with the world finances be Australian and leave OUR Flag alone

we need to get rid of the states to save duplication of everything that will save a lot of money that could be used for health etc first before anything else is done

I served in Afghanistan in 2006/2007 in private security and one of the proudest moments was celebrating Australia Day with other australians. We proudly wore our current flag on our faces (stickers) and wore australian shirts and anything else that we could attach our flag to. Leave it alone - we have fought and continue to die for our flag and the honor it bestows upon us.

Hey rowdy215,

can you please get in touch with the cricket people and point this out to them, because, as pointed out by dirtroadpirate, we're not happy watching Pakistan play Pakistan in the one day matches.

Thanks

NO!!!! why do we need to change it? Apart from the cost involved it is apart of our history good and bad. It is who we are as a nation. Leave it be. If we were to make any change it should be a shared flag showing what we have and also include the aboriginal flag or colours

I vote leave it alone

As an aussie living overseas, I am more proud than ever to see my flag flying. This flag represents what we as a nation are made of...history, a history of struggle and determination and success. We are not hanging on to Britain by keeping our flag. We are hanging onto who we are and where we come from, and this is important to remember.
People all over the world are in awe of Australian's pride as a nation. WHY would we change this wonderful flag....it's ours. IT IS MAGNIFICENT!!

I can't understand why we would even be thinking about changing the flag and becoming a republic. Has anyone of those people stopped to consider the cost of doing this? The labour party has already put us in deep debt with their stupid policies handing out money left right and centre! We desparately need money in our health system to try and get it right. Spending money on flag changes and the like (also another bloody referendum) seems totally ridiculous to me! I don't really have any great feeling of any kind toward the royal family or England by the way!

To Rowdy of Grafton Sir Ninian Stephens procliamed 'green and gold' to be Australia's national colours on 19th April, 1984.

Its the Union Flag.

It is referred to as the Union Jack only when flown at sea.

Our flag is part of our history - good and bad - and changing it won't change our history, only deny it.
We are a relatively young country and should be proud of what we have acheived in a short time.
Yes, we made a few blues but we can learn from them if we remember and we kicked a few goals that we can build on, if we remember.
If we throw out our history - and our flag is a part of that - we start from scratch having to rebuild and learn our hard lessons again and possibly not attaining the heights of the past.
It doesn't make sense to me to do that but it does make sense to me to build on what we have and are - one of the greatest countries on earth - and our flag is a symbol of that.
What is a new flag a symbol of, other than a symbol of denial?

I thought it was great to see an Aboriginal man on tv, saying that he "didn't have a problem with the flag".

Do Not Change Our Flag there is nothing wrong with it!
Do not make Australia a Republic it isn't necessary
We are a unique Country with a Unique Spirit & a Unique Position in the world.
We have successfully blended so many cultures.
Maybe those who have a problem with our flag & our status (ie NOT a Republic) do not truly have an understanding of what it is to be Australian.

Hello, I am impressed with the flag that has been put forward by Brendan Jones - a google search will find this. He has incorporated the Aboriginal colours, but not the Aboriginal flag, as many Aboriginal people do not want their flag incorporated into the Australian flag. He has kept the southern cross, and the large six pointer star that represents the states and has also incorporated the shape of a boomerang - well done. I commend this to you for your consideration. Best, Joannie

THE AUSTRALIAN FLAG TO ME – AN ABORIGINE

To all who like the Australian Flag as it is today – are you aware of Australian History PRE-1788

I, Michael Connolly [Munda-gutta Kulliwari] am an Aboriginal person [the First People] of this great land we know as Australia. BEFORE 1788 there were estimated to be over 500,000 Aboriginal and Torres Strait Island Peoples on this land. When Captain Cook sailed up the east coast, King George III told Cookie to put the Union Jack Flag in the ground at Possession Island and claim the land Terra Nullius [the land of no one] and become a part of England.
Well funny, there were People here already – my Ancestors who had been trading with the Chinese and Japanese, the Macassans, Dutch, Portuguese and French since the 1400’s.
Now to the real part of the Union Jack. Since 1933 it has been recorded that there was only approximately 100,000 Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders left – only 20% of the original total. The truth – From 1788 – 1933 over 400,000 of MY PEOPLE were decimated by way of disease, removal and massacres at that hands of the New Australians. How would many Australians [First Boat People] now feel about these latest load of Boat People coming to Australia and claiming it Terra Nullius and putting up their flag claiming land and country – I am sure there would be outrage.
So when you hear stories of the Australian Flag and how good the monarchy is – just give a little thought to the FIRST PEOPLE and consider their history – the original Australians – the People who have been custodians of this great land for over 100,000 years BC [before Cook].
So the land beneath the Southern Cross should also acknowledge the Traditional Owners of this land and our dreamings by showing this on the flag of the new Australia - a land that we would like to share and work together for a better future for all.
Australia did not start at 1788 – it began long long time ago......

Michael Connolly
Munda-gutta Kulliwari

Dreamtime Kullilla-Art
Traditional Indigenous Australian Art & Craft & Native Bush Tucker Products
PO Box 137, Redcliffe Qld 4020
Tel: 07 38801320 - Fax: 07 3880 0479
Email: kullilla@dreamtime.auz.net
Web: http://www.dreamtime.auz.net
ABN: 31 492 172 861

I have to agree with Michael. I am a white Australian and until last year was unaware of so much of the 'real' history of our nation! I love our flag because I love Australia and it is OUR flag, but it doesnt represent all of Australia, and if anything it is saying that Australia only started to exist once the Almighty English arrived! (fyi my decendants are English and Scotish). This is not the case though and if we as a nation really want to show our Indigenous brothers and sisters that we are truely sorry for the hell that our ancestors put them through, then we need to acknowledge that through our nations flag! They are the original Australians, lets acknowledge that!

OMG just change it its just a flag and aussies need there own identy not a brittish identy geez