The Australian flag debate is a question over whether the Australian flag should be changed, particularly to remove the Union Jack from the canton, but also to possibly introduce a completely new design without the Southern Cross. The debate has often arisen in connection with the issue of republicanism in Australia. It has come to a head on a number of occasions, such as the period immediately preceding the Australian Bicentenary in 1988 and during the prime ministership of Paul Keating, who had publicly raised the topic of flag change during the early 1990s.

Arguments for a new flag

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

Arguments for the current flag

The Australian National Flag Association was formed to maintain the status quo. Opponents of changing the flag have made the following arguments:

Southern Cross

The Southern Cross is thought to represent Australia's position in the Southern Hemisphere (see Southern Cross Flag). It has been used as a symbol of Australia since in the 1820s when there were crown colonies of the British Empire in Australia. The National Colonial Flag for Australia was the first such concept to depict the Southern Cross. Some claim that the Southern Cross is not explicitly Australian but could represent any nation in the Southern Hemisphere. As well as the Australian flag, it also already appears on the flags of Brazil, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, New Zealand and the Mercosur trade bloc.

History

When the winning entry to the 1901 Federal Flag Design Competition was announced the initial reception was mixed. The then-republican magazine The Bulletin labelled it: "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." Initially the Department of Defence resisted, considering it to be a marine ensign and favouring King's Regulations that specified the use of the Union Jack. After being approached by the Department of Defence, Prime Minister Chris Watson stated in parliament that he was not satisfied with the design of the Australian flag and that implementation of the 1904 resolution could wait until consideration was given to "adopt another [flag] which in our opinion is more appropriate." On 14 April 1954 the Flags Act 1953 was introduced by the Menzies government and became law with bipartisan support. It formally designated the current flag as the "Australian National Flag" and gave it priority for the first time over the Union Jack. This formalised the transition from the Union Jack as the pre-eminent national symbol, which began in 1941 with the lifting of restrictions on flying the red and blue ensigns, followed by the designation by then prime minister Chifley of the blue ensign as the "national emblem" in 1947 and finally the decision of the Menzies Cabinet in 1950 to proclaim the blue ensign the "Australian National Flag" and present one to every school for the 50 year anniversary of Federation. One of the first proposals for a new Australian flag with the Union Jack removed was made in 1956 by the Republican Socialist League. It removed the Union Jack and it replaced with a slightly larger Commonwealth Star. The Bulletin magazine launched an Australian National Flag Quest on 1 August 1971 in time for the visit of Queen Elizabeth II to open the Sydney Opera House in October 1973; 10 designs were chosen from the 2,000 submitted and these were displayed by major stores in the capital cities and main provincial centres during 1972. In July 1982 changing the flag became official Labor Party policy, after being included in the party's official platform at that year's National Conference. The prime minister, Bob Hawke, subsequently announced in the House of Representatives that the design of the Australian flag would not be reviewed by the Australian government before or during the bicentenary year, with the commitment dropped in the National Platform of 1988. Later, the debate was revived in the Labor Party with the change to Paul Keating as prime minister, who publicly championed the cause of a new flag. On a state visit to Indonesia he said: "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." On 6 June 1994, the Sydney Morning Herald reported cabinet minister Kim Beazley, as saying that the Labor government was committed to its timetable for changes to Australia's flag by the Centenary of Federation in 2001; however, beyond commissioning a national survey that year, no further action was taken. In 1998 the Howard Government amended the Flags Act 1953 to require a public vote before the Australian flag could be changed, after unsuccessfully supporting several private members' bills with the same effect whilst in opposition. Additionally, the government advised the governor-general proclaim 3 September Australian National Flag Day in 1996. In 2002, the Howard government supplied ANFA's promotional video free to all primary schools and in 2004 required all schools receiving federal funds to fly the Australian flag. In the 1997 film Event Horizon, set in the year 2047, Sam Neill, playing an Australian astronaut, wears an Australian flag patch on his spacesuit with the Union Jack in the canton replaced with the Australian Aboriginal flag. This was at Neill's suggestion, as he thought the flag might have been changed by that point in the future. Malcolm Turnbull, former chairman (1993–2000) of the Australian Republican Movement and head of the official "Yes" case committee for the 1999 Australian republic referendum, left the board of Ausflag in 1994 after being asked for his resignation and in 2004 joined the Australian National Flag Association. In 2015, with the flag debate in New Zealand continuing, discussion on the Australian flag arose in the media. This included the issue being raised publicly by Labor MP Tim Watts. In 2016, designer and social entrepreneur Murray Bunton created the Unity Flag.

Polling

Frequent Morgan 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. 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.