Ged Kearney (Cooper, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Skills) Share this | Hansard source

Today I rise to acknowledge a petition that was created by Spark Health, trading as Clothing the Gap, two fantastic Indigenous organisations in my electorate of Cooper. Over 46,000 people have signed the Pride not Profit petition, which is calling for a change to the current licensing agreement around the Aboriginal flag, with the common goal of freeing the flag from copyright. The Aboriginal flag has been an important symbol to Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians alike since its creation in 1971. This week Laura Thompson, the cofounder of Spark Health; Olympic gold medallist and ex-senator Nova Peris; and artist Michael Connelly are here in parliament to advocate for changes to that copyright.

First Nations leaders and business operators are expressing their grave concerns about the existing copyright arrangements that relate to the current Aboriginal flag and the licensing agreements that have been made by the recognised copyright owner, Harold Thomas. In June this year Spark Health, along with other businesses, including several sporting codes, were issued with a cease and desist notice from WAM Clothing for celebrating and displaying the Aboriginal flag on clothing. Currently WAM Clothing holds an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with the flag's copyright owner, Harold Thomas, to produce the Aboriginal flag. I ask this: should WAM Clothing, a non-Indigenous business, control the mark and profit from the resistance, resilience and perseverance of Indigenous people?

Labor is calling on the federal government to do more to protect the Aboriginal flag, which, as some say, is being held hostage. Most flags, including the Australian flag, have their copyrights owned by the government and remain in the public domain, free for all to use. The copyright of the Aboriginal flag is valid for Harold Thomas's life plus another 70 years, so potentially we're looking at another 100 years until the rights of the flag can enter the public domain. In terms of the nation, the most public pieces of public property are flags. Logically, there is an inherent contradiction when the Aboriginal flag is privately owned. Importantly, the government also recognised and proclaimed the Aboriginal flag in 1995 and again in 2018 under the Flags Act. Therefore, there is a legitimate expectation of free use of that work as a flag.

The Australian and Indigenous people want no more and no fewer rights to the Aboriginal flag than we do with the Australian flag or the Torres Strait Islander flag. The government can and should use all available resources to find a fair and equitable resolution to ensure the Aboriginal flag remains just that: a national flag. I commend the work of Spark Health, Dreamtime Kullilla-Art and each and every organisation and individual who has added their voice to the call to free the flag. In the words of Laura Thompson, 'The flag represented a struggle and a resistance movement, and now it just feels like a struggle to use it.'

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