Phillip Thompson (Herbert, Liberal National Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

I move the amendment circulated in my name:

(1) Schedule 1, page 45 (after line 10), at the end of the Schedule, add:

Part 8 — Burning or desecrating the Australian flag

Criminal Code Act 1995

66 After Subdivision B of Division 80 of the Criminal Code

Insert:

Subdivision BA — Burning or desecrating the Australian flag

80.1AD — Burning or desecrating the Australian flag

A person commits an offence if the person burns or desecrates the Australian National Flag (within the meaning of the Flags Act 1953).

Penalty: Imprisonment for 2 years.

The Australian national flag is far more than stitched fabric fluttering in the wind. It is woven into the very fabric of our nation. It is a living symbol of who we are, the values we hold and the price that has been paid in blood, service and sacrifice to preserve our way of life.

For generations of Australians, the flag has stood as a unifying emblem, raised in moments of triumph and lowered in moments of profound national grief. It is worn with pride on the shoulders of our Australian Defence Force, and it is draped with solemn honour over the coffins of those who never came home. I have buried friends, my brothers, beneath that flag—mates who were killed in combat, who died in training or who were taken by the battles that followed them home. I have stood at gravesites where the Australian flag was the final gesture of gratitude that a nation could offer. That flag does not represent an idea alone; it represents lives given, families broken and a debt that can never be repaid. That is why the growing scenes of flag burning and flag desecration on our streets strike such a raw national nerve.

Over the past year, Australians have watched protesters deliberately desecrate and torch our national flag. For the overwhelming majority of Australians, this is not political expression; it is contempt. It is a deliberate act of disrespect from those who seek to undermine the very values upon which our nation is built. National polling shows that 77 per cent of Australians believe burning the Australian flag should be illegal. That is not a fringe view. It is the clear and overwhelming voice of the Australian people. The symbols on our flag—the Federation star, the Union Jack and the Southern Cross—tell our national story. They represent the unity of our states and territories, the rule of law, the foundations of our democracy and our place beneath the southern skies. These are not abstract concepts. They are the values that underpin our freedoms, our institutions and our national identity. Yet our laws are silent.

The Flags Act 1953 offers no protection against desecration unless it involves damage to private property. That is an indefensible gap. If we accept that the Australian national flag represents our nation, then it must be protected in its own right by this amendment. Some argue that criminalising flag burning infringes on freedom of expression. That argument fundamentally misunderstands both freedom and responsibility. Freedom of expression has never been absolute. We already draw lines where conduct incites violence, promotes hatred or desecrates sacred and culturally significant symbols. Protecting our national flag is not censorship. It is an affirmation of national unity and mutual respect. Desecrating and setting fire to the Australian flag is a disgusting act designed to divide, demean and inflame.

This amendment sends a clear and unequivocal message: we stand united under our flag, the Australian flag. Introducing a maximum penalty of two years imprisonment is a proportionate and necessary deterrent to this hateful and disgraceful act. Every time another grub on the street puts a torch to our national flag without consequence, it is an insult to every Australian, especially those who wore the flag on their shoulder while protecting our nation and those who were buried beneath it. I commend this amendment to the House.

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