Ausflag unveils new Aussie flag to be used at sporting events

by:
PATRICK LION - POLITICAL REPORTER From:
News Limited Network January 24, 2013
9:44PM



A HIGH-powered alliance of top Australians has unveiled a new national sporting flag and plans to use it to gatecrash major sporting events.

Ausflag will push for sporting bodies and fans to embrace the green, gold, blue and white flag - still featuring the Southern Cross - and even want it to be raised as the official flag in Olympic Games medal ceremonies.

The not-for-profit group's directors include businesswoman Janet Holmes a Court, former Australian of The Year Patrick McGorry, television journalist Ray Martin and author and former Wallaby Peter FitzSimons.

The new flag is pitched at sporting events only, but the group hopes to use it to help change attitudes and eventually knock the Union Jack off the official flag with another design.

It is pointing at Fiji's recent moves to change its flag and the recent debacle at the London Olympics when Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand all shared the podium looking almost identical with the Union Jack on their flags.

. "Britain, Little Britain and Littler Britain," Ausflag chairman and former NSW Nationals MP Robert Webster said.

Mr Webster, who compares the Union Jack's placement to Google letting Apple feature in its advertising, said there was a reluctance to wave the official flag at events and fans instead used inflatable kangaroos.

"This new design is a sporting flag, but our aim eventually is to change the Australian flag," he said.

But the Australian National Flag Association, which supports the current design, said it was a shame that each national day triggered a call for a new flag.

"It's unnecessary," ANFA spokesman Bert Lane said. "Even from a sporting point of view, we have had athletes going to the Olympics every time with this current flag."

Ausflag is calling for sponsors to help bankroll promotions and distribution and plans to roll it out at major international sporting events such as cricket, tennis, rugby league and rugby union.

Martin said the directors all had their own opinions on the best flag design but the end concept had their main points of agreement no Union Jack and the presence of green and gold.

"I'm just tired of Australians wrapping themselves in the Australian flag and all you can see is the Union Jack," he said.

Mrs Holmes a Court said the group had some money but would soon move to a campaign mode.
"It would be lovely if we had a flag of our own that doesn't reference anybody else's flag," she said.

http://www.heraldsun.com.au/news/national/ausflag-unveils-new-aussie-flag-to-be-used-at-sporting-events/story-fncynkc6-1226561280074

It's just a way of reminding Nauru that they're our bitch.

or we are still Englands bitch

How does that new flag pertain to england?

Am refering to our flag now with union jack in it .

Far-be-it for us to associate with our cultural heritage.

Far-be-it for us to associate with our cultural heritage.

speak for yourself

Would love to see Australia become a republic, new flag would be a good start. That one is pretty ugly though

Edited by jparraga: 25/1/2013 02:14:03 AM

All the things you've mentioned could also be said about nations such as the USA and Canada.

This will do me...

I'm not sure the USA as an example, they're a mess of a country right now.
And as for Canada, they have the added complexity of Quebec separatists, french occupation and it being buttfuckingly cold 9 months of the year.

Australia is a unique situation. We've drawn so much of our social identity from British influence, to just throw away something that symbolises not only that but everything our country has stood for and achieved over the last 100 years is an aberration.

The people demanding the flag be changed are just another case of the PC Brigade going too far once again.

How do you advertise a country's flag demonstrate multiculturalism? Make it a Magic-eye patchwork quilt of the world's flags where if you stare at it long enough you see Warney holding a VB riding Phar Lap?

A counrty's flag doesn't define or demonstrate its multiculturalism, its people do.

It's a symbol of our heritage, and not just that but our achievements for the last century (And then some). People who want to change the flag should be shot for treason.

It's like they're ashamed of where they're from.

Edited by afromanGT: 25/1/2013 02:12:06 AM

Am not too sure why removing the Union Jack from our flag will deny our cultural heritage , but i guess we will have to agree to disagree .

but if we seperate from england, we don't get a long weekend in june anymore!

Of course Australians don't like to be reminded of their history. They're convicts. I wouldn't want to be reminded either. God save your Queen!

Of course Australians don't like to be reminded of their history. They're convicts. I wouldn't want to be reminded either. God save your Queen!

This will do me...

That's sickening

Some Australians are way too insecure about what other people think about them

If we are going to ever change the flag, just make it the Aboriginal flag, it'd make sense, and it's logical.

Ridiculous sweeping generalisation there.

The people demanding the flag be changed are just another case of the PC Brigade going too far once again.

How do you advertise a country's flag demonstrate multiculturalism? Make it a Magic-eye patchwork quilt of the world's flags where if you stare at it long enough you see Warney holding a VB riding Phar Lap?

Not to mention that most of them were convicted for the pettiest of the petty, such as stealing a bread roll to feed their kids :lol:

Not entirely true. Cheap gin was huge in poorer areas of London and the result was a huge amount of petty crime. Having said that, yes, most crimes which warranted transportation were property offences. I'm pretty sure Irish convicts would have been most likely to be in the position you've described due to the Irish famine. There's a song about it I think, low lie the fields of athenry.

I still like seeing Australians tie themselves in knots when the subject is raised. "The clever ones got themselves sent to Australia" is one response I've heard. Hmmmm...

Honestly, as a pommie, you just don't bring it up because Australians (or at least Gold Coasters who are mainly thick as arseholes anyway), despite this apparent love of banter, get really offended by it. We get the flak for all the ills of the world, you lot get offended when people tell you that your great, great grandad was a convict.

Regardless, I don't see the point in a change of flag or the idea of republicanism. It's a waste of time, money and thinking which should be better used on the current crop of problems facing this country.

Rev is right, when we're talking about a nation's heritage: let history be history. Don't walk away from it.

=d> =d>

Terrible idea to change the flag, for sporting events or for good.

Can we please keep some traditional culture/values, not just change for the sake of change? Some (or most, depending what you believe) is still good, valid and worthwhile.

"Imperialism and genocide made our nation great" - AfromanGT

"Imperialism and genocide made our nation great" - AfromanGT

All British are slave driving imperialists and we should remove any trace of them from our history. - Notorganic

Funny, it's kind of what Chairman Mao was thinking when he obliterated his nation's historical artefacts. This was widely regarded as a bad move.

How do you advertise a country's flag demonstrate multiculturalism? Make it a Magic-eye patchwork quilt of the world's flags where if you stare at it long enough you see Warney holding a VB riding Phar Lap?

Countries change, but that doesn't mean that everything that identifies them has to. For the first time ever, London has a higher populace that identifies themselves as "black british" rather than "white british", but you don't see them changing the Union Jack.

I thought that it was all other ethnic groups together now have a higher populace then white british in London.

London was found to be the most ethnically diverse region, and Wales the least. More than a third of London residents were born abroad and almost a quarter are not British citizens. London is the first region where white British people have become a minority. About 3.7 million people in the city described themselves as white British compared with 58 per cent, or 4.3 million, in 2001. London's overall population is currently 8,174,100.

Oh really? I thought he was driven by Atheism.

All Marxists are atheists afro and so was Mao. When I went to Beijing quite a few of their ancient temples had been destroyed and I went to see one buddhist monastery which had been protected from Mao by Communist Party red tape apparently. I'm not sure how if I'm honest.