Pauline Hanson (Queensland, Pauline Hanson's One Nation Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

This afternoon, the Labor Party will be moving a notice of motion to fly the Aboriginal flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag in this chamber. Let me tell you a few facts. A competition was held in 1901 to design the Australian flag. It was announced by Prime Minister Edmund Barton after a request from the British government for a flag to distinguish Australia. Almost 33,000 entries were received, and then a panel of five judges approved the winning entry.

The national anthem was first composed in 1878 by Peter McCormick. That was prominent in the competition for a national anthem initiated by Prime Minister Gough Whitlam in 1973. The Whitlam government polled 60,000 Australians, more than half of whom selected 'Advance Australia Fair'. A plebiscite on the anthem was conducted along with the 1977 referendum, with four choices. 'Advance Australia Fair' received 43.29 per cent of the vote—far more than any other alternatives.

The Aboriginal flag was designed by one individual, Harold Thomas, in 1971. No Australian or government appointed panel had any chance to comment on the design, and no Australian has ever had the opportunity to vote to approve the Aboriginal flag, as happened with our national flag and anthem. The people should have a choice in this, not this parliament. This is the people's house. It is not for senators to decide whether the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags are flown in this chamber. When you actually put the voice to the people, I suggest to the people of this chamber—if you have got the guts—that you allow the people of Australia to vote on whether they want those flags flown. I'm warning people: this is divisive. We are one nation, one people and one flag. We are masters— (Time expired)