Tom French (Moore, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today as the member for Moore, a proud and diverse community of tradespeople, young families, health workers, professionals and retirees. For many of them, our freedoms are valued just as deeply as the flag that represents them. But this motion is nothing more than a flag-waving stunt from those opposite. It offers nothing. It offers no legislative substance. It is just another opportunity for the coalition to play culture wars while pretending to defend the national interest.

Let me be absolutely clear: the government deplores the burning or desecration of the Australian flag. So do the overwhelming majority of Australians. It is offensive, it is disrespectful and it runs against the grain of what our community expects. But what's even more offensive is the hypocrisy of the coalition in trying to make political mileage out of this. This is the same coalition that wrapped itself in the flag while cutting services to veterans and attacking multicultural communities. Now they want to criminalise protest, but only the kind of protest they disagree with. It's the oldest trick in the book: pretend to defend freedom while quietly undermining it.

Let's be clear: the Australian flag deserves respect. It flies over our parliament, our embassies, our schools and our RSLs. It is worn by the men and women of the ADF and laid on the coffins of our fallen. But it is not fragile. It does not need to be protected from every offensive act with criminal punishment. I've seen what that flag means. My brother Joe wears it on his shoulder as a serving member of the Royal Australian Navy. I've seen it fly on the back of his ship, proud, powerful and purposeful. Just last month, I visited the cadets at TS Marmion in Hillarys. These young people represent the flag with discipline and respect, not because of legislation but because they understand its meaning.

The government recognises that Australians know the difference between protest and patriotism. We trust their judgement, and we trust the law as it stands. Desecration of the flag can already be dealt with under existing criminal laws where property is damaged or public order is disturbed. Police already have the power to act under state and territory law. In cases where terrorist symbols or organisations are involved, Commonwealth law applies. The Criminal Code contains serious offences for persons who support fund, train with or associate with listed terrorist organisations. We don't need symbolic legislation. We already have enforceable laws.

So what is this motion really about? It's not about legal reform. It's not about community safety. It's about political theatre. It's about those opposite trying to look tough while offering nothing: no investment in education and no plan to build social cohesion—just another divisive headline to feed the evening news cycle. The 1953 Flags Act has never criminalised desecration—not under Labor and not under the coalition. That's because every government until now has understood that democracy means protecting freedom of expression even when it offends. The government finds flag burning repugnant, but we will not sacrifice fundamental democratic rights for the sake of a press release. We will not pretend that more criminal law is the answer to cultural frustration. We are a liberal democracy. That means we tolerate peaceful dissent even when we disagree with the method. The moment we start criminalising lawful political expression simply because it offends us, we risk losing sight of the very freedoms we claim to defend.

Let me be clear: this government takes action when it matters. We enforce the law, we prosecute actual crimes, we do the work. The opposition stage hollow debates to distract from their own policy vacuum. They are not a party of principle; they are a party of slogans. If they truly cared about national unity, they'd support measures to bring Australians together, not punish them into silence. The Australian flag is not strengthened by legislation like this. It is strengthened by the way we live our values—freedom, fairness and respect for the rule of law. I say this not as a parliamentarian but as someone who owes their life to the public health system. As a kidney transplant recipient, I've seen firsthand what national service and public care mean to real people. Those values are the ones our flag represents.

I oppose this motion and invite members of the house to treat the flag and the freedoms it represents with more seriousness than those opposite have done today. Thank you.

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