Jacinta Nampijinpa Price (NT, Country Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence Industry) Share this | Hansard source

The Greens certainly don't respect or acknowledge Indigenous Australians in the Senate. The burning of our national flag on that wretched weekend wasn't the first time it's happened, and it won't be the last, but is it any wonder it took place? The disrespect of our country and our values has been on the rise since the sordid events on the steps of the Sydney Opera House on 9 October. This government's supine response to the crisis of antisemitism gripping our nation has only emboldened an anti-Australian sentiment that is shared by the Greens.

The protests at home and in other democratic nations have in common a national self-loathing and anti-Westernism that have been hallmarks of many protests since the late 1960s. The divisive Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Voice referendum hasn't helped matters. What's more, our national flag isn't even afforded the respect it deserves by the Prime Minister. His prerequisite for standing in front of our national flag is to stand in front of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags too. Yes, both are proclaimed flags, but they're not national flags. We have one national flag, just like almost every sovereign nation. The Prime Minister's decision to stand in front of three flags isn't an act of respect; it's an act of disrespect. From disrespect comes division, from division comes disloyalty and from disloyalty comes a greater motive for desecration.

Of course, no country should be beyond criticism and, in a democracy like ours, there are many ways one can voice criticism. May we forever cherish the right to freedom of speech and wearing our Australian flag, but the burning of our national flag goes beyond free speech and political protest. It's an abuse of liberty. It's a rejection of responsible citizenship. It's a display of historical ignorance. It's an expression of national ingratitude. It's performative disrespect, with subversive characteristics, and it's an act intended to sow division, disunity, national hatred and even violence.

No self-respecting nation, especially a country with Australia's achievements, should tolerate the burning of a national flag. There are no provisions in the Flags Act 1953 or in other legislation that criminalise this. Things need to change, especially at a time when our nation is facing social cohesion challenges unlike anything we've seen in generations. The coalition calls on the Albanese government to enact legislation that criminalises the destruction or desecration of our national flag.