Flag of Australia - Flag Debate

Flag Debate

There have been low-key but persistent debates over whether or not the Australian flag should be changed in order to remove the Union Flag from the canton. This debate has come to a head at a number of occasions, such as in the period immediately preceding the Australian Bicentenary in 1988, and also during the Prime Ministership of Paul Keating, who publicly supported a change in the flag and was quoted as 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 with the flag of another country on the corner of it.

There are two lobby groups involved in the flag debate: Ausflag (est. 1981), which supports changing the flag, and the Australian National Flag Association (ANFA) (est.1983), which wants to keep the existing flag. The primary arguments for keeping the flag cite historic precedence, while the arguments for changing the flag are based around the idea that the existing flag does not accurately depict Australia's status as an independent and multicultural nation, nor is its design unique enough to easily distinguish it from similar flags, such as that of New Zealand, Cook Islands and Tuvalu. Similarity between the flag of Australia and other flags is often derived from a common colonial history.

Frequent polls showed the percentage of Australians wanting a new flag increasing from 27% in 1979 to 42% in 1992, to a majority of 52% in 1998. In response, the Coalition government under John Howard discouraged discussion about changing the flag and in 1996 established Australian National Flag Day, in 1998 legislated to make a change more difficult, in 2002 supplied ANFA’s promotional video free to all primary schools and in 2004 required all schools receiving federal funds to fly the Australian flag.

Ausflag periodically campaigns for flag change in association with national events, like the 2000 Summer Olympics, and holds flag design competitions, while ANFA's activities include promotion of the existing flag through events like National Flag Day. A 2004 Newspoll that asked: "Are you personally in favour or against changing the Australian flag so as to remove the Union Jack emblem?" was supported by 32% of respondents and opposed by 57%, with 11% uncommitted. A 2010 Morgan Poll that asked: "Do you think Australia should have a new design for our National Flag?" was supported by 29% of respondents and opposed by 66%, with 5% uncommitted.