Quote of the month!

December 2003

Shame we don't have our own flag when the English do

" The World Cup has served to highlight the utter absurdity of the Australian flag. Last week, in a sea of green and gold kangaroo flags, there were fewer than a dozen Australian flags. There's nothing more Monty Pythonesque than watching Australians and New Zealanders wave their defaced British ensigns at each other.

Tomorrow, while the world watches, Australia will compete under the Union Jack, while England fight it out under their red and white cross of St George. Talk about confusing an international audience. In the immortal words of Seinfeld: 'I love the Australian flag... Britain at night.' "

Harold Scruby, Ausflag, Sydney
Letters to the Editor, The Australian, 21 November 2003.

November 2003

Flag us for a win

International sporting events always highlight the absurdity of the current Australian flag. The Rugby World Cup is just the latest...

" The casual, non-rugby-aficionado TV viewer in, say, Japan, Georgia, Uruguay or the US watching a World Cup game between England and Australia may be more than a little perplexed.

While the supporters for one side (England) proudly display white flags emblazoned with the red cross of St George, supporters of the other team hold aloft a flag the most striking feature of which is the internationally recognisable Union Jack.

One can only speculate on the further confusion of the same viewers witnessing a possible cup semi-final between Australia and New Zealand. Just as the English, Welsh and Scottish fans (and citizens) have their own identifying emblems, so should we have our own distinctively Australian flag. So, come on, Aussies. "

Terry Grant, Dundas,
Letters to the Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald, 23 October 2003.

October 2003

Vision of the Future

The monarchists would like us to believe that the Union Jack will be with us forever. This front-page illustration in Australia's premier newspaper shows that when people think of the future (this story looks at Australia in 2025), the flag is very much in people's minds - and it's not the Union Jack.

Spectrum supplement, Sydney Morning Herald, 20-21 September 2003

September 2003

Get a Grip

The proposed ban on flag burning has been seen by the public for what it is. Politicians "protecting" our freedoms by gradually removing them.

" With all the troubles in the world, don't politicians have something better to do than to try to ban the burning of the Australian flag (Flag burning may become offence, Herald, August 19), a silly but essentially harmless form of protest? "

Norm Neill, Leichhardt,
Letters to the Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 August 2003.

August 2003

Free speech under attack... again

Some politicians just don't get it... they tell us we live in a free country and then they turn around and try to criminalise harmless forms of political protest. Just when we thought last year's pointless attempt to make flag-burning illegal had died its natural death, along comes Trish Draper MP telling us black is white...

" "People who desecrate the flag should be prosecuted. It ought to be an offence to wilfully burn, deface, defile, mutilate, trample on or otherwise desecrate the Australian national flag.

Ms Draper stressed it was not an attempt to stifle free speech or the right to protest. "

NineMSN News, 18 August 2003.

July 2003

What's the point when they look the same?

Each year the Premiers of New South Wales and Queensland taunt each over the outcome of Rugby League's "State of Origin" football series. The losing state has to fly the winning State's flag in a prominent location. The sting is completely lost when these two utterly boring and passionless flags aren't even recognised by their own residents...

" The Queensland Premier says never again should the New South Wales flag fly at Lang Park Stadium. He raised the flag this morning after losing a bet about the outcome of the State of Origin series with New South Wales Premier Bob Carr. Queensland won the third match 36-6, but lost the series 2-1.

"This is a one off... next year the Queensland flag will be over the Sydney Harbour Bridge," Mr Beattie said. "

ABC Online News, 17 July 2003

June 2003

Why did the monarchists support the war?

" For those who've been agitating for a change in our flag and our anthem, the news could be good and sooner than they think: the Stars and Stripes and the Star-Spangled Banner.

And unconfirmed reports are that John Howard may now be prepared to throw his weight fully behind the republican movement - provided George Bush is our first president. "

John Valder, Bayview,
Letter to the Editor, The Australian, 24 March 2003.

May 2003

All The Way with George Dubya II

" I notice that John Howard has joined Mr Bush's lapel-flag patriots. He is now visibly a member of the coalition of scoundrels. "

Tom Tabart, Burringbar

" A safety tip for any young Aussies travelling overseas. Put a Canadian maple leaf on your backpack. "

Tony Nicod, Maroubra,
Letters to the Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald, 19 March 2003.

April 2003

Hansonism Lives?

" If it is to be a crime to burn the Australian flag, can it also be a crime to wrap yourself in it? "

Tony Barrell, Balmain,
Letter to the Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald, 8 March 2003.

March 2003

All The Way with George Dubya

" John Belbeck, of Inverell, patriotically bought an Australian flag and pole from a discount shop. The flag, made in China, came with instructions when to fly it - on American holiday dates. "

Column 8, The Sydney Morning Herald, 27 February 2003.

February 2003

The Confusion Continues

" It may be a bit late," reports Arch Hennessy, of Gymea Bay, "but I have just been shown a copy of the January/February Panthers magazine that advertises its Australia Day at Penrith Lakes. Prominent on the notice is the New Zealand flag. The Kiwi influence in this country is unsudious. "

Column 8, The Sydney Morning Herald, 7 February 2003.

January 2003

Divided loyalties

The Ashes cricket Test series has just been completed between Australia and England. The Barmy Army rightly ripped into us with their chant "OUR FLAG IS ON YOUR FLAG... doo dah, doo dah". Wouldn't it be great if at the next Ashes series we could wave a flag that supported only one of the teams? But in the meantime, the ACB can't even get the England flag right...

" Why does the ACB fly the Union Jack at the England v Australia Test matches? Shouldn't it be the St George's Cross, England's national flag? "

Caven Tootell, Dundas,
Letter to the Editor, The Sydney Morning Herald, 20 December 2002.

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