More strike tag legislation, this time the Flags Act of 1953. This is to enable greater diversity in the flags that can be flown at official occasions. The amendment includes provision to petition the Governor-General to add a flag of Australia under Section 5.

Purpose

To enable greater diversity in the Australian Flags that can be used for official occasions.

Amended Flag Act

The Australian National Flag (blue ensign) and Australian Red Ensign are added to the Section 5 "Flag of Australia". No Section 5 flag, nor the Australian National Flag have primacy over each other. This allows individuals and organisations to use an Australian flag other than the Australian Nation Flag on official occasions. This will include official occasions such as celebrating Australia Day, ANZAC Day, the Olympics etc. For instance the Olympics medal ceremony will be celebrated with the Olympians Australian Flag of choice.

The amended act also empowers electors to petition the Governor-General for a flag to be added via Section 5 as a flag of Australia. This is to enable popular flags to find wider official usage. This is also so the Governor-General cannot maintain a monopoly on deciding what flags Australians wish to represent themselves with.

Section 8 has been struck out in its entirety. The Union Jack used to be the informal Australian National Flag. In British flag convention, the blue ensign was for government only, and the red ensign for civil ocean and sea going. There is no reason, in this day and age, why Australia should have another nation's flag a part of its Flags Act.

FLAGS ACT 1953 - Long Title

An Act to declare a certain Flag to be the Australian National Flag and to make other provision with respect to Flags

FLAGS ACT 1953 - SECT 1

Short title [see Note 1]

This Act may be cited as the Flags Act 1953 .

FLAGS ACT 1953 - SECT 2

Extension to Territories

This Act extends to all the Territories.

FLAGS ACT 1953 - SECT 3

The Australian National Flag

    (1) The blue flag described in Schedule 1, being the flag a reproduction of which is set out in Part I of Schedule 2, is declared to be the Australian National Flag.

    (2) The blue flag referred to in subsection (1) ceases to be the Australian National Flag if, and only if:

      (a) a new flag or flags, and the flag referred to in subsection (1), are submitted in each State and Territory to the electors qualified to vote for the election of members of the House of Representatives; and

      (b) the new flag, or one of the new flags, is chosen by a majority of all the electors voting.

    (3) The form and manner in which a proposal for a new Australian National Flag is submitted to electors, and the manner in which a vote on the proposal is taken (which may include the adoption of a form of preferential voting for choosing among 3 or more flags), and arrangements for adopting a new flag as the Australian National Flag if chosen as mentioned in subsection (2), are to be as the Parliament prescribes.

    (4) In this section:

    "Territory" means any Territory referred to in section 122 of the Constitution in respect of which there is in force a law allowing its representation in the House of Representatives.

    [Amendment] (5) The Australian National Flag has the same official status as the Australian Flags referred to in Section 5.

FLAGS ACT 1953 - SECT 4

The Australian Red Ensign

    (1) The red flag described in Schedule 1, being the flag a reproduction of which is set out in Part II of Schedule 2, shall be known as the Australian Red Ensign.

    [Amendment] (2) The Australian Red Ensign has the same official status as the Australian Flags referred to in Section 5.

FLAGS ACT 1953 - SECT 5

Other flags

    (1) The Governor-General may, by Proclamation, appoint such other flags and ensigns of Australia as he thinks fit.

    [Amendment] (2) Citizens may, through provable support of at least 6,000 electors, petition the Governor-General for the appointment of a flag of Australia.

    [Amendment] (3) Flags of Australia have equal status as the Australian National Flag, and can be used for non federal government official occasions, at the discretion of the individual or organisation, in preference to the Australian National Flag.

FLAGS ACT 1953 - SECT 6

Warrants to use flags

    (1) The Governor-General may, by warrant, authorize a person, body or authority to use a flag or ensign referred to in, or appointed under, this Act, either without defacement or defaced in the manner specified in the warrant.

    [Amendment] (2) The Governor-General will not infringe on the ability of an individual or organisation, other than a federal government body, to use a flag of Australia, of their choice, in an offficial occasion.

FLAGS ACT 1953 - SECT 7

Rules as to use of flags

The Governor-General may make, and cause to be published, rules conventions for the guidance of persons in connexion with the flying or use of flags or ensigns referred to in, or appointed under, this Act.

FLAGS ACT 1953 - SECT 8

Flying of Union Jack

This Act does not affect the right or privilege of a person to fly the Union Jack.
More reading: Tags
Cam Riley: South Sea Republic. Freedom, liberty, equity and an Australian Republic.

Comments
  • cam . # .
    Note Schedule 1 and 2 not included in this: They can be found here in the Flags Act of 1953 . Those two schedules would be unchanged.

    cam
  • Rowdy . # .
    There still needs to be a unique National Flag: Cam,
    I think there still needs to be a flag that is recognised as being the National Flag.
    While you deleted section 8 with the use of the Union Jack as an Australian Flag in your proposed amendment of the Flags Act 1953, what is there to prevent a bunch of people from getting together to have the Union Jack petitioned as an Australian Flag, with the same status as any other, in the method you proposed in the earlier section? What would stop people putting up flags of foreign nations, such as the United States, as new flags.
    The National Flag is an international convention and we all understand the power of a national symbol such as the flag. People can fly any flag they like (nearly - as long as it doesn\'t offend the neighbours) but the Flags Act sets out the unique and special flags that identify Australia as a nation. I don\'t think this special national status for flags should be changed willy-nilly.
  • Yeah I think you might want at least a default: Otherwise it\'ll be pretty confusing for the organisers of international events, you\'ll get a lot of \"God Save The Queen\" moments.
  • cam . # .
    The Australian National Flag remains the: ... blue ensign. The section 3 additions that Howard put in pretty much assure that. It cant be called anything but a national flag. I also tried to write it so that the federal government has to use the blue ensign too.

    With the Union Jack, they can fly it now however they want. With Section 5, I would like if a convention popped up where the Governor-General once receiving a petition put it to a plebiscite, where a flag would be made a flag of Australia only if there was a majority returned from it.

    The problem with the government having a monopoly on defining what is a national flag, and whether a plebiscite will be held on one, means that people are alienated from \"their\" national symbolism anyway. This adds pluralism to the process, and the ability of a nation\'s people to represent itself.

    cam
  • cam . # .
    Bugger the organisers of international events: The choice of Australian flag isnt for them. It is for us. It is so we can choice what represents us as Australians. If that means people start accepting olympic and commonwealth medals with the Eureka flag, or Aboriginal flag, or even the Red Ensign - then it is up to the organizers to accomodate them - and shame on them if they dont.

    Besides, we are Australia right? We can tell them to do it.

    For federal government purposes the blue ensign would be their flag. This is mainly to give individuals and organisations a choice. It is also so unpopular flags can die out through lack of usage, and new flags can be adopted without having to go through a political process.

    cam
  • cam . # .
    btw I didnt formally write that the GG: have to go to a plebiscite after recieving a petition, as our shitty separation of powers in the Executive is reliant upon the PM advising the GG - and not the other way round.

    cam
  • Howard\'s amendments: Are Howard\'s ammendments actually legally valid? I was of the understand that one parliament cannot bind another. Another Government should be able to ignore them, shouldn\'t they, and without it being politically contentious if they make it one of their election policies/promises? (I will vote for any party that promotes a flag containing the Federation star in the left-hand side, the Southern Cross in the right-hand, and (apart from colors) no other symbology, before any party that does not.)
  • cam . # .
    Those amendments are part of the Flags Act now: So they must be legally valid.

    cam
  • avocadia . # .
    Valid until invalidated:

    They are valid only until another Government amends the Flag Act to remove them. So they are valid for now, but it only takes legislation to change them.