An opinion piece published by The Daily Telegraph on 3 September 2025

On 29 April 1901, Australia’s first Prime Minister, Edmund Barton, announced a competition to design our Federal Flag. Despite only 32 days to submit designs, more than 32,000 entries were received.

Five entrants who submitted similar designs – Ivor Evans, Leslie Hawkins, Egbert Nuttall, Annie Dorrington, and William Stevens – were declared equal winners of the prestigious competition and shared in the £200 prize.

How fitting that a schoolboy, an optician’s apprentice, an architect, an artist, and a ship’s officer all had the same vision for our national flag. And how fitting that the flag to represent the people of Australia was designed by the Australian people.

On 3 September 1901, our national flag was first flown over the dome of Melbourne’s Exhibition Building – the site of our first Commonwealth Parliament. The Brisbane Courier captured the moment in stating, “Nationhood is better for the concrete expression; and nothing will stir up enthusiasm or rouse the sense of regard for the country in which we live like a constant sight of the flag of Australia.”

It wasn’t until 1953 that the Parliament passed legislation to formalise what had become the routine practice of flying the national flag.

So, what of our national flag’s symbols?

There’s the constellation of five stars – the Southern Cross – a reminder of our unique place in the world and the common geography all Australians share. Indeed, my elders from a tiny community near Tennant Creek have spoken about how the Southern Cross is part of dreaming – Jukurrpa. So contrary to the views of activists, Indigenous Australians certainly are represented by our national flag.

There’s the Union Jack – a reminder of our British heritage and the Christian ethos that forged a modern nation.

And there’s the seven-pointed Commonwealth or Federation Star – six points for our six states and a seventh point for our territories – a reminder of our unity.

Together, these symbols remind us of our nation’s history and the contributions of generations of Australians: Of the Indigenous Australians who knew and cared for the land. Of the British settlers who gifted us the institutions and ideas that have underpinned democracy, modernity and progress. Of the farmers, miners, labourers, builders, manufacturers, and constitutional drafters who transformed colonies into a federated country. Of the soldiers, sailors and airmen who served to defend our nation and deter and defeat evil – including the more than 103,000 who gave their lives. Of the migrants who arrived after the Second World War – and in the decades after to this day – who embraced our values, helped build our nation, and became cherished Australians.

When we look at our flag, we remember our history in the round. Yes, we remember the dark chapters – like the mistreatment of Indigenous Australians and returned Vietnam Veterans. But we also recognise that our achievements and successes far outweigh our wrongdoings and failures. Australia was formed without civil war or the level of bloodshed most other countries have known. We haven’t experienced the enduring enmities of difference or separatism that have beset other nations. Indeed, a defining national achievement has been the weaving together of the Indigenous, British, and broader migrant threads of our story. Each bestows an inheritance.

Today, we Australians naturally have many differences: Of where we live and work. Of ancestry and heritage. Of faith and fellowship. Of age and gender. Of opinion.

Despite these differences, our flag reminds us that we’re united by our common values. We’re aspirational, egalitarian and compassionate. We believe in reward for hard work. We treasure individual freedom. We respect the rule of law. We want our nation to be defended. We have a sense of duty – to those we love, to our families, to our communities, and to our nation.

Our national flag represents so much: our history, story, geography, resources, people, deeds, mateship, sacrifices, institutions, traditions, values, unity, loyalty and patriotism. Our national flag signifies our common citizenship and camaraderie that makes strangers acquaintances. Our national flag is for times of celebration and times of commemoration. And as our most eminent historian, Geoffrey Blainey said, our national flag ‘links the living and the dead.’

When one appreciates the symbolism of our national flag, it’s impossible to not have a sense of gratitude. Gratitude for the fortune to live in this great southern land. Gratitude to our forebears – and all they did to protect this country and ensure it prospers. Gratitude for what is aptly described as ‘The Australian Achievement’.

With gratitude comes something more important: a sense of responsibility. Our national flag reminds us that we are the custodians of a remarkable legacy. We have a duty to hand over to the next generation a country better than the one we inherited. Our national flag reminds us of the duty of responsible citizenship – doing something in our lives that is bigger than ourselves. For example, raising a family, contributing to one’s community, working hard in a chosen field of endeavour, or serving the nation in some capacity.

When one understands the history behind our national flag – and when one values its symbolic weight – it’s beyond comprehension that the burning of our national flag is not a criminal offence.

Like the majority of Australians, I was appalled by the footage of pro-Palestinian protesters burning our national flag in Melbourne on Sunday 3 August.

That event coincided with the disruptive, disgraceful, and divisive rally across the Sydney Harbour Bridge. A rally where some protesters chanted genocidal slogans, displayed Hamas symbols and Nazi swastikas, waved flags of terrorist organisations, and carried a photograph of Iran’s oppressive dictator. A rally the Prime Minister astonishingly described as a ‘peaceful demonstration’. A rally that shouldn’t have been permitted to proceed.

The burning of our national flag on that wretched weekend wasn’t the first time it has happened. And it won’t be the last time. But is it any wonder it took place.

A disrespect for our country – and our values – has been on the rise since the sordid events on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on 9 October 2023. This Government’s supine response to the crisis of anti-Semitism gripping our nation has only emboldened an anti-Australian sentiment. Indeed, the protests at home – and in other democratic nations – have in common a national self-loathing and anti-Westernism that has been a hallmark of many protests since the late 1960s.

The divisive voice referendum hasn’t helped matters.

What’s more, our national flag is not even afforded the respect it deserves by the Prime Minister. His pre-requisite for standing in front of our national flag is standing in front of the Aboriginal and the Torres Strait Islander flags too. Yes, both are proclaimed flags. But each is not a national flag. We have one national flag – just like almost every sovereign nation.

The Prime Minister’s decision to stand in front of three flags isn’t an act of respect. It’s an act of disrespect. From disrespect comes division, from division comes disloyalty, and from disloyalty comes greater motive for desecration.

Of course, no country should be beyond criticism. And in a democracy like ours, there’s many ways one can voice criticism. May we forever cherish the right to freedom of speech.

But the burning of our national flag goes beyond free speech and political protest. It’s an abuse of liberty. It’s a rejection of the responsible citizenship. It’s a display of historical ignorance. It’s an expression of national ingratitude. It’s performative disrespect with subversive characteristics. It’s an act intended to sow division, disunity, national hatred – and even violence. And no self-respecting nation – especially a country with Australia’s achievements – should tolerate the burning of a national flag.

There are no provisions in the Flags Act 1953 – or other legislation – that specifically criminalises the burning of the Australian National Flag. Things need to change. Especially at a time where our nation is facing social cohesion challenges unlike any we’ve seen in generations.

Legislation that criminalises the destruction or desecration of the Australian National Flag will be supported by the many quiet patriotic Australians who are sick of seeing our nation symbolically attacked and undermined by the ungrateful and ignorant few.