Burn Our Flag, Pay The Price

Burn Our Flag, Pay The Price

Like others I was shocked to see recent images of the flagrant burning of the Australian flag broadcast across
television news bulletins.

Now I’m sure most Australians, perhaps even those less patriotic than me, would have considered those
images offensive but it got me to thinking – is it illegal to burn the Australian flag?
Shockingly it is not.

Now before I have amateur legal eagles give me their best impression of Rumpole of the Bailey, I accept that
burning the Australia flag in certain context could lead to criminal charges such as property damage or
disorderly behaviour but the fact remains there is no federal or state law across Australia that directly
prohibits burning the Australian flag.

Internationally the approach to this issue differs considerably. Indeed, many countries like Australia do not
consider the desecration of their flag a crime, however the broad consensus amongst jurisdictions that do, is
to set a penalty range of up to and including a term of imprisonment for two years. Fair enough.

Now there will be some that disagree with me, they would no doubt draw my attention to the United States
of American (an deeply patriotic country) wherein a divided Supreme Court in 1989 upheld the right of
protesters to burn the American flag in a landmark First Amendment decision. The court by the slimmest of
majorities (5-4) accepted that the act of burning the flag was an act of symbolic speech and protected via the
guarantee to freedom of speech enshrined in the First Amendment.

I am a fierce defender of freedom of speech because as George Orwell said ‘if liberty means anything at all, it
means the right to tell people what they don’t want to hear’ but burning our national symbol, the symbol
that acts as a reminder of the contributions of past and current generations to this great Nation and of the
inheritance that will be passed to future generations is not an act of free speech it is more akin to Treason.
I ask hundreds of school children each year to treat the Australia flags I provide to them with dignity and
respect, that’s not an easy task when adults burn the very same flag flagrantly on our streets and face no
consequences for doing so.

Surely burning the flag that is draped across the coffins of Australian Defence Force personnel, men and
women who have paid the ultimate price defending our freedoms is a step too far. It is for me and that is
why I intend to present a Private Members Bill to the House of Representative making it a criminal offence
to burn it