Frequently Asked Questions
“If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
“Changing the flag disrespects Australia’s war dead”
“The flag needs Aboriginal colours”
“Why not the Eureka Flag?"
“We should become a republic before changing the flag"
Contact Us
The best way to contact us is via messaging the Southern Horizon Facebook page, which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/southernhorizonflag
“If it ain’t broke, why fix it?”
- This statement is deeply flawed, as one of the main characteristics of a good flag design is its universal or near-universal acceptance among those it represents. For instance, the vast majority of Americans accept the U.S. flag as representing them, and the Aboriginal flag is universally accepted as adequately representing the Aboriginal people.
- The very presence of a flag debate and continued discussion on changing the current flag shows that the Australian flag does not adequately represent the Australian people, and therefore requires “fixing”.
“Changing the flag disrespects Australia’s war dead”
- Soldiers fight for their values and country, and changes in national flag have not stopped nations who have done this from paying their respects. A nation which has already gone down this path is Canada, which changed its flag from a British-derived one to the current design in 1965, and now has a well-recognised flag which is unmistakably Canadian. And this has been no barrier to Canadians respecting their war dead.
- Secondly, historical analysis shows that Australians have fought under a range of flags, including the Blue Ensign, the Union Jack, and the Red Ensign, which has generally fallen into disuse (except for maritime vessels). In the same sense that abandoning the Union Jack and the Red Ensign did not disrespect the Australian soldiers who fought under it, changing our flag to a new design will not disrespect those who fought for Australia.
- In addition, prominent war veterans have supported adopting a new flag, including former PM Gough Whitlam, who served in WWII, and Wing Commander Rollo Kingsford-Smith, who even sat on the board of Ausflag.
“The flag needs Aboriginal colours”
- Adding only the Aboriginal colours will mean that the Torres Strait colours will also need to be incorporated (to avoid excluding Torres Strait Islanders). Such a design would ultimately have 6 or more colours, which will make the design look strange and aesthetically unappealing
- Any flag that appropriates the Aboriginal colours will risk making the Aboriginal colours less able to represent just the Aboriginal people, which is the purpose of the Aboriginal flag.
- Any flag which uses indigenous colours risks being unable to represent all Australians, and may make some people feel that the flag only represents one part of Australian society.
- Thus, a good design needs to represent all groups equally, by using symbols which are relevant to all Australians (for instance the Southern Cross is a symbol present in both indigenous and non-indigenous culture).
“Why not the Eureka Flag?"
- The Eureka Flag, while playing a very important role in Australia’s history, has developed a unique niche separate to the national flag, as a flag used when protesting for political causes.
- Furthermore, some people do not like the design, due to the Eureka Flag being associated with the union movement, while others are uncomfortable with its use by organisations on the far-right.
“We should become a republic before changing the flag"
- There is no reason to need to become a republic before changing the flag. The issues of republicanism and changing the flag, while often conflated, are in fact separate issues, as Canada has adopted a post-colonial flag, while remaining a constitutional monarchy. New Zealand, another constitutional monarchy, is also having a referendum on changing its flag in 2016. Therefore, there is no need to wait before adopting a new flag!
Contact Us
The best way to contact us is via messaging the Southern Horizon Facebook page, which can be found at https://www.facebook.com/southernhorizonflag
