Hundreds of Australians are calling for a new national flag to unite us all under one flag, after Peter Dutton declared he would not stand in front of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
Anthony Albanese has displayed the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the Australian flag at press conferences since becoming prime minister in 2022.
But Dutton said the nation should be united under one flag and he would appear only under Australia’s national flag.
“I firmly believe that we are a country united under one flag, and if we ask people to identify with different flags, no other country does that, and we are dividing our country unnecessarily,” he told Sky. News earlier this week.
As the debate erupted, a proposal to redesign the nation’s flag was shared on Reddit as a possible solution to unite the nation under a single flag.
It features the Southern Cross with the Aboriginal flag in the space currently occupied by the Union Jack and was shared on Reddit on Wednesday.
They noted that Sam Neill had worn the same design on his arm in the 1997 film Event Horizon.
“The flag that Sam Neil represented in Event Horizon has always been the solution,” they said.
A proposed redesign of the nation’s flag was shared on Reddit on Thursday, featuring the Southern Cross with the Aboriginal flag in the space currently occupied by the Union Jack.
One movie fan pointed out that Sam Neill had worn the same design on his arm in the 1997 film Event Horizon.
The flag sparked debate on social media, with many wanting a new design, but not that one.
‘Lacks symmetry in design. It’s unbalanced and ugly. Just a bastardization of both flags,” one of them said.
‘As an Aboriginal, I agree. It is necessary to change the flag, but not this,” added a second.
‘The creator of the Aboriginal flag has said on numerous occasions that he does not want it to be the canton. A flag in the canton area represents control and dominance, which is not what they want to achieve,’ said a third.
Prominent Australian writer Peter FitzSimons is one of the leading figures advocating for the redesign of the Australian national flag.
FitzSimons retweeted the proposed change, with the caption: “This would be at least a step in the right direction” in January 2022.
He is one of the directors of Ausflag, alongside politicians, celebrities, writers and businessmen, including Vince Sorrenti, Ray Martin, Philip Adams and Anne Keating.
Its website says its goal is to find a flag that “represents our nation and its people, our past, present and future, our land, our equality and diversity, our achievements, our hopes and aspirations.”
And he adds: ‘We can do much better. Help us tell our story, not someone else’s.’
FitzSimons dismissed the current flag, which has been official since 1953, with American comedian Jerry Seinfield’s quote: “I love your flag.” Great Britain, at night.
Republican Peter FitzSimons (pictured with his wife Lisa Wilkinson) is behind a website dedicated to finding a new design for the Australian national flag.
Since Anthony Albanese became Prime Minister, the Australian flag is seen alongside the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags at press conferences.
Ausflag has been collecting designs since 2015 and the public can support their favourites, some of which attract thousands of votes.
Many of the most popular have incorporated a kangaroo into the design, but one of the most popular is a Southern Cross and Federation Star on green and gold stripes, the nation’s sporting colors derived from a flowering acacia tree.
It simply highlighted another Southern Cross design, which has a green and gold boomerang in the center.
Another Southern Cross flag, which is a version of the Aboriginal flag as a rising sun against a dark red horizon, also attracted thousands of votes.
Ausflag has been collecting designs since 2015 and the public can support their favorites. Some have attracted thousands of votes
This simple design is one of the most popular on the Ausflag website.
FitzSimons previously said the national flag could be changed at the drop of a hat if Canberra wanted it.
“Like the republic, although they are separate issues, changing the flag is a matter of political will, not money.”
The current Australian flag was adopted after the federation of the six British colonies into one nation in 1901.
FitzSimons previously led the Australian Republican Movement, which wants to replace the King with an Australian as head of state.