Quote of the month!

December 1998

Reconciliation

In July 1997, the ATSIC Board voted unanimously that true reconciliation with the indigenous peoples of Australia is not possible while the Union Jack remains on the Australian flag. On 30th November 1998, the Australian Prime Minister, Mr John Howard, said upon launching his Government's quest for a 'reconciliation' document that:

" Any document of this kind must have as a starting point that we are all Australians together, the indivisibility of the Australian nation, it must be a document that acknowledges the historical truths of this country, the prior occupation of it by the indigenous people"

John Howard should now acknowledge that Australia needs a new flag – one which recognises the "prior occupation by the indigenous people" rather than denies it - a flag under which true reconciliation can be achieved.

November 1998

Flagged Off

" I most certainly believe that our flag should be changed to exclude the Union Jack. As I was recently on holiday in the United States, staying with friends, a comment came up during conversation one day. Asked if we were a colony of Britain still, I felt quite embarassed when my reply was no, we're not. I rest my case."

G.F. Kelly, Campsie, NSW
Letter to the Editor, Sydney Morning Herald, 9 October 1998.

October 1998

Flag Waving

" Mr Howard, I don't believe that it is 'un-Australian' to want change. On most days, the Australian flag flies proudly on the pole outside our house. I don't love this flag - it is representative of my country, which I do love. As a symbol of this country, I respect the flag, but this does not stop me thinking that it is an inappropriate representation and a more relevant substitute should be found.

A change would not undermine my respect for those who, in the past, made sacrifices for our country. They were motivated by many factors and to say that they died for the flag undervalues their contribution to shaping our attitudes and culture. "

Trevor Daily, Earlwood, NSW
Letter to the Editor, Sydney Morning Herald, 25 September 1998.

September 1998

September 3 was Australian National Flag Day... but most of Australia blinked and missed it. The Executive Director of Ausflag, Harold Scruby, said:

"When we proclaim our own flag, a flag which truly depicts our egalitarian spirit, which represents us all equally, which symbolises nationhood, not subordination, we'll have no further need for an annual flag day. Then we'll have Flag Day every day of the year."

August 1998

The Ausflag exhibition recently travelled to Brisbane, often considered a very conservative city and unlikely to be a strong base of support for a new flag. Trevor Moore of the Brisbane City Gallery wrote to Ausflag on 7 July and said:

"With our initial assessment of votes submitted at the exhibition, the final breakdown indicated that about 25% of visitors wished to retain the current flag, with the remainder favouring a selection from the flag designs on display. Please keep us informed of any further developments on the new flag issue, and thanks again for your assistance with the exhibition"

July 1998

No comment required...

One Nation's Immigration Policy Launch

"Ms Hanson and her immigration spokeswoman, Ms Robyn Spencer (formerly of Australians Against Further Immigration) were there to announce an immigration policy that promised zero net immigration, the supremacy of Anglo-Australian culture, and an end to multiculturalism. A smiling David Oldfield directed journalists to the back, where two men in Australian Flag ties handed out the policy document."

"They don't see eye-to-eye on the alien nation", Sydney Morning Herald, 2 July 1998, p.4.

June 1998

A recent newspaper article by David McBride generated quite a reaction. Here's one of them:

"Bravo, David McBride. I was almost moved to tears at his article on our flag and what a new flag could be and would mean to us all as Australians. Let's hope some sanity prevails in the flag debate and a decision made in the very near future to replace the Union Jack with a flag that is truly ours. I, too, would rally with great pride under a flag such as the one depicted in the article and could think of none better than that beautiful adaptation of the southern cross. We can but hope."

Dianne G. Storr, Beverley Park, NSW
Letter to the Editor, Sydney Morning Herald, 6 May 1998.

May 1998

Mr Randolph Alwis, Chairperson of the Federation of Ethnic Communities Councils has recently been appointed to the Ausflag Board. Upon accepting this post he said:

"We desperately need our own flag... a flag which represents all Australians equally. Not a flag which implies a superior status to those of British descent, not a flag which implies subordination to the UK, not a flag which suggests we are a British colony. A flag which states clearly and unequivocally, that we are a sovereign, independent, multicultural nation."

April 1998

"There was a tremendous response to the Herald's Australia Day Flag Poll, when readers were invited to vote for 100 new designs by professional designers, or for the Australian flag. More than 22,000 calls were registered during the 48 hours of the poll. It was the biggest response to a phone opinion poll this newspaper has received. By an almost two-to-one margin, readers voted for one of the new designs rather than the national flag."

You flagged it – We need something new up the pole, Sydney Morning Herald, 31 January 1998.

March 1998

"The Prime Minister provided a convincing case for a new Australian flag when he expressed what he said was 'one argument - and I acknowledge a strong one' in favour of an Australian republic: 'That the symbolism of Australia sharing its legal head of state with a number of other nations has become an anachronism and is no longer appropriate for an Australian nation about to enter the 21st century.' The symbolism of the Australian flag, with the Union Jack so prominently displayed on it, is an obvious anachronism."

"The debate on a new flag", Sydney Morning Herald Editorial, 27 January 1998.

February 1998

Dr Lois O'Donoghue made a wonderful and passionate speech in favour of a new flag at the launch of Ausflag's largest ever campaign

"Our national flag should be a symbol of our national ideals and of the people we want to be. We regard ourselves as independent, individual and inclusive - but our existing flag, our national symbol, says none of this. Instead, it symbolises a narrow slice of our history including a significant period when the rights of Australia's indigenous peoples were overlooked. For this reason, most of Australia's indigenous people cannot relate to the existing flag. For us, it symbolises dispossession and oppression. And it just doesn't reflect the reality of Australian life in the late 1990s."

January 1998

Australia's monarchists tied themselves to the current flag in the recent Constitutional Convention election, presumably thinking it would boost their vote:

"The Republicans want to tear up our Australian Constitution and then to tear up our Australian National Flag."

Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy, Convention Election Group Statement, November 1997.

"A republic will not improve unemployment, the environment, or our national debt. But it will change our flag."

Australians for a Constitutional Monarchy statement, "Republic: Yes or No?", Australian Government Guide, November 1997.

Monarchists collectively obtained only 33.9% of the vote nationally in the election. The Australian National Flag Association in Tasmania ran a candidate in the election. He recorded only 2.5% of the vote!

The current flag has now been shown to be an electoral liability!

Previous Quotes of the Month

2007 – 2006 – 2005 – 2004 – 2003 – 2002 – 2001 – 2000 – 1999 – 1998 – 1997 – 1996