Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson has submitted a proposal, under standing order 75, today, which has been circulated and is shown on the Dynamic Red:

The need for the Senate to take immediate action to make it an offence to wilfully burn or desecrate the Australian National Flag.

Is consideration of the proposal supported?

More than the number of senators required by the standing orders having risen in their places—

With the concurrence of the Senate, the clerks will set the clock in line with the informal arrangements made by the whips.

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

I move:

That, in the opinion of the Senate, the following is a matter of urgency:

The need for the Senate to take immediate action to make it an offence to wilfully burn or desecrate the Australian National Flag.

I can't remember a more inspiring sight than the sea of Australian flags waving in Canberra on Sunday. I can't remember when I felt more pride in my country and its unique, wonderful people. Our flag means so much to so many. It tells a story of who we are: the Aboriginal people who have lived for thousands of years under the eternal Southern Cross; the arrival of the First Fleet and the establishment of the British colonies of convicts and free settlers seeking a new life on a new frontier; and the creation of a new nation and federation of states united in common cause.

Today it's National Flag Day. It was 124 years ago this very day when this flag was first flown. It followed a national competition to design the flag and a democratic vote to select it. This flag has represented our great nation since that day. It has been flown to represent us all over the world: on the battlefields of Gallipoli, Beersheba, the Western Front, the Kokoda Track, Tobruk, Long Tan and Kandahar; in the great cities and capitals of the world, flying over the sporting fields and at the Olympics where Australians have represented our nation with great distinction; on our iconic landmarks and in schools at our public institutions; in the front yards of countless patriots; and over the top of this very building, the seat of Australian democracy. It is the flag under which so many brave Australians fought and died in wars against tyranny, in defence of democracy and for our nation's survival. It is those sacrifices the Australian flag honours above all else.

Shamefully, there are people who know what the flag means to so many Australians, and that's why they despise it. They despise our people and our nation for their stupid, narrow hateful causes, and due to the symbolic value of our flag, they choose to desecrate it. They choose to burn it in our streets. They object to Australian senators wearing our flag in this chamber, while they proudly drape themselves in a keffiyeh, a global symbol of Islamic terrorists. This is unbelievable. Representatives of the Australian people are banned from wearing our flag in the Australian parliament because a Greens senator objects. Remember that—a Greens senator. What the hell is wrong with you?

Karen Grogan (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson, I'll ask you to mind your language, please.

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

A petition created by One Nation to protect against this desecration has gained more than 50,000 signatures in just a few weeks. This petition gained a lot of momentum in the lead-up and immediate aftermath of Sunday's peaceful marches. It's time to protect this enduring symbol of our nation. It's time to outlaw for all time the wilful burning or desecration of the Australian flag—the only flag that has been endorsed and agreed upon by the Australian people. All senators in this chamber and in this parliament are on notice. If you don't support this motion, then you don't support Australia and its people and the flag which represents us all. You will directly insult the thousands of Australians who have served, fought and died under this flag and for this country. This is your opportunity to show the people you claim to represent that you love our country and its most potent and important symbol, the national flag. Australians will be watching, and they will remember what you do today. They will know where you stand, and I won't let them forget either.

One Nation stands for Australia and with its people. We stand for a united nation, under one flag: the Australian flag. It should be the only flag flying over our landmarks and institutions or in this chamber. It's the only flag the Australian people have ever voted for. No-one was ever given a vote on any other flags. This is the time to ensure the reverence our national flag deserves. We should bring back those assemblies in our schools where we all stood every morning while our flag was raised, and we must punish and penalise those who would desecrate our flag and disrespect our nation and the Australian people.

I just want to point out the comments today by Senator McKim. For him to say that he would wear the Palestinian flag on the floor of this parliament was so shameful and disgusting that I could not believe that he actually made that comment—that he would wear that. It shows exactly where his loyalties lie, and it's not with Australia or the Australian people, so I hope people never ever forget that.

Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Health and Aged Care) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

A point of order. I just want to raise a point of order on the fact that we have a speakers list, agreed by the whips, and the coalition was due to speak next. I'm just wondering whether the clerk might be able to provide some advice in relation to the fact that the speakers list had determined that the call was to come to this side of the chamber.

Maria Kovacic (NSW, Liberal Party, Shadow Assistant Minister to the Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The advice from the clerk is that the speakers list is a guide, and, if there is a dispute as to the call, it should go side to side. Minister, you have to call.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I seek leave to move an amendment to the motion.

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

Bring in the big guns!

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Hanson, I'm going to ask you to withdraw that. I am the President of the Senate.

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

I shall withdraw.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Is leave granted?

Leave not granted.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

At the request of the Leader of the Government in the Senate, and pursuant to contingent notice, I move:

That so much of standing orders be suspended as would prevent me from moving an amendment to the motion.

I move:

That the question be now put.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the closure motion as moved by Senator Chisholm be agreed to.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The question is that the motion to suspend standing orders be agreed to, to allow Senator Chisholm to move an amendment.

Question agreed to.

Anthony Chisholm (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Assistant Minister for Regional Development) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

Omit all words after "the following is a matter of urgency", substitute:

The need for the Senate to recognise that Australia is a nation that welcomes different races, religions and views and today is home to the oldest continuous culture on the planet, and to people from more than 300 ancestries. The Australian National Flag, and the other national flags, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, represent our shared values and our rich history and any actions to desecrate these flags should be condemned.

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

I rise, firstly, to commend Senator Hanson for bringing her MPI to the Senate and, secondly, to condemn the government for usurping, in the most undemocratic fashion, the senator's opportunity to debate her motion on an issue that is close to not only Senator Hanson 's heart but my own heart. The government had every opportunity at any time to deal with this particular issue. But, no, they have hijacked Senator Hanson's motion, a motion that seeks to make it illegal for any person in this country to burn our national flag, and instead provided a bunch of wishy-washy words that talk about the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. This motion, this issue that's before us, is about the Australian flag. Again, you vilify a senator in this place. You vilify her. You've made her out to be a racist in this country. You do everything you can to pile on her like a bunch of bullies, and here you are again—

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Nampijinpa Price, withdraw please.

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

I withdraw. But I stand by my words that suggest that this government are completely and utterly disgraceful in their actions and their behaviours. They effectively just want to silence Senator Hanson and silence decent human beings who come here and want to see better for our country. I think it's utterly disgraceful that you've taken this opportunity.

Again, you stand with those who would stand here, as they have suggested, draped in a Palestinian flag, that support calls 'from the river to the sea', which is effectively an act of genocide against Jewish people. This government has failed to stand up against antisemitism. This government fails to stand up for everyday Australians who seek to ensure that our national flag is protected. Instead, you vilify them as racists. You take away the opportunity to have their voices heard right here where democracy is supposed to play out on the floor of the Senate.

What is it? You're afraid that Australians might cheer on Senator Hanson for standing up for our national flag—that the vast majority of Australians do not wish to see our national flag burnt, that they do wish to see it become illegal for that flag to be burnt? You can't come up with your own ideas? You couldn't come up with this idea before Senator Hanson brought this motion to the Senate? You had to go and co-opt it and turn it into your meaningless nonsense?

Seriously, this is posturing. There's no decency in this. There's no decency in shutting down a senator's opportunity to debate their urgency motion and hijacking it instead. Seriously, what are you afraid of? But it really is not surprising, is it, with this government and that the Labor Party, especially under Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, who can't even stand up for Australians. Instead, you stand up and you say: 'Let's respect Indigenous Australians. Let's pay our respects'—and the Greens as well, with their pretend respect for Indigenous Australians. But no: they choose to shut down an Indigenous Australian in this Senate for wearing an Australian flag, and then they side with this weak government to shut down any sort of debate or any demonstration of pride in this country. They shut it down. Shame on you! Shame on the Albanese government!

Malarndirri McCarthy (NT, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Indigenous Australians) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Australian flag is representative of who we are as Australians and of the strong values we uphold as a nation, and we must protect it. The Albanese government does not support the burning or desecration of the Australian flag, the Aboriginal flag or the Torres Strait Islander flag. As a nation, we deeply value an open and liberal democracy, which includes protecting the right of every Australian to express their political view. And there needs to be a balance between protecting this right and ensuring that those who go further and engage in criminal conduct are dealt with by the law.

Across the country, states and territories already have laws in place to capture this abhorrent conduct. Australian criminal laws are designed to provide a basis for action against people who abuse the flag in certain situations, such as where it involves a breach of the peace or where private property is destroyed. We are not able to support the motion as drafted by Senator Hanson, and we have moved an amendment to the motion to strike a balance and for it to be a motion that we could support. Our amendment asks the Senate to consider omitting all words after 'the following is a matter of urgency' and to substitute:

The need for the Senate to recognise that Australia is a nation that welcomes different races, religions and views and today is home to the oldest continuous culture on the planet, and to people from more than 300 ancestries. The Australian National Flag, and the other national flags, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, represent our shared values and our rich history and any actions to desecrate these flags should be condemned.

The events of the past weekend make it clear: we don't need debates that promote fear and division. What we need is unity and respect, especially in the Senate.

Ralph Babet (Victoria, United Australia Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I cannot believe what I have just witnessed. I thought this place was a place of debate, where different ideas could come together in a great melting pot. But what did we see today? We saw Labor and the Greens come together to steal from Senator Hanson an opportunity to have her views—to have my views—heard. It is incredible. I am so disappointed in what has happened that I, of all people, almost have no words to describe it. There is no democracy in this country—not with what we've seen today. When you take away my right to make a contribution to a debate and you completely change what it was about, what does that tell the Australian people? It tells them, 'Your vote does not count for diddly squat.' People voted to put me in this place. People voted to put Senator Hanson in this place. People voted to put all of us on this side of the chamber here in this place. And now we don't have an opportunity to speak, because of the collusion that we've seen between Labor and the Greens to take away Senator Hanson's voice.

In my opinion, it should be an offence to willingly burn the Australian flag. It is our national flag. It represents all of us. The fact that some people in here would rather come into this chamber wearing the national flag of another country is shameful.

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

Well, I'm flabbergasted. This is unbelievable. Senator Hanson's motion was to stop the burning of the Australian flag, our national flag. What the Labor Party has decided to do is to change it completely to something totally different.

Now, the Aboriginal flag was not adopted as a national flag, but was proclaimed as an official flag of Australia in 1995. It serves as an official symbol, alongside the Australian national flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag, representing the Aboriginal peoples of Australia. But it's not our national flag.

It should be against the law to burn something so sacred, that so many people have fought and died under. I heard Senator Wong earlier talk about her heritage, coming from Malaysia. Australian soldiers fought and died under that flag to save the people of Malaysia, possibly saving her family.

I just cannot comprehend that people would not support the non-burning of the Australian flag. We're not talking about any other flag. We're just talking about the Australian flag. No other flag should be brought into this debate.

I'm going to read the words that I had prepared for this, but I'm going to run out of time. The Australian flag is not just a symbol; it is the beating heart of our nation. It represents more than just our identity. It stands for our history, our values and our unity. It's a banner that tells the story of who we are—a story of perseverance, of freedom, of courage and of shared purpose. The flag reminds us of where we've come from, what we've overcome and the sacrifices that generations of Australians have made to build the nation we're privileged to live in today. It represents the principles we hold dear: democracy, mateship, resilience and the unwavering belief in a fair go.

Our service men and women carried that flag into battle; they fought beneath it and died underneath it. For those who gave their lives to protect our values and our way of life, the flag was draped over their coffins and now flies in their honour.

My own grandfather served under that flag in World War II. He, like countless others, left behind the comforts of home and the arms of family, not knowing if he would ever return. He didn't serve for recognition. He didn't serve for political gain. He served for Australia, for the ideas that our flag represents. But his story is not unique. It's the story of thousands upon thousands of brave Australians, men and women, who stepped forward in times of great need, who wore the uniform, bore the burden and stood for something greater than themselves.

That's why I will say this plainly and without apology: burning or desecrating the Australian flag is not an expression of free speech; it is an act of contempt. It is a direct insult to those who gave their lives for what this flag stands for. It is a betrayal of our national story, our shared values and the deep respect we owe those who served. It is offensive, not only to the memory of our fallen heroes, but to their families, their descendants and every Australian who takes pride in our country.

Yet here we are, in 2025, witnessing the Australian flag being burned on the streets of our own cities during recent protests. Our national symbol was torched, stomped on—treated with utter disdain. What does the Albanese Labor government do? There is nothing, silence, crickets. It tries to introduce a totally different motion. There's not a word of condemnation. There's no strong statement from the Prime Minister. There's no defence of the values we claim to uphold.

I ask every one of you to reflect honestly. If it were the Aboriginal flag being set on fire or if it were the rainbow pride flag being trampled on and burnt in public, would the reaction be the same? Of course not. The media would explode. Social media would erupt, and there would be wall-to-wall outrage, calls for arrests and politicians falling over each other to denounce it, and rightly so, because burning any flag in hatred is not an act of unity; it is an act of division. But when it's the flag that represents all Australians, regardless of race, gender, sexuality or background, when it's our national flag being desecrated, we get silence. We get inaction. This is not equality, this is not unity and it's certainly not leadership. Our flag should not be a political target.

Corinne Mulholland (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

We condemn all actions taken by any person to desecrate our nation's flag. That is exactly why police have the powers to apprehend anyone for such offensive violations. Arson is a crime, property offences are a crime and inciting violence is a crime. Given that these laws exist now, I think the motivations behind this motion are plain to see. Instead of being distracted by this motion, let's instead work to heal some of the division that has been created by the behaviours we saw on the weekend.

As fate would have it, today, 3 September, is Australian National Flag Day. The Australian flag was first flown on this day back in 1901, and 124 years later it is a symbol of our great democracy, our rich diversity and our Australian way of life. It was designed as a symbol of unity. The Southern Cross is a symbol of our shared place under the southern skies. The Commonwealth star is a literal symbol of unity amongst the states and territories. Even the Union Jack represents the unity we share through the social structures and legal systems that distinguish Australia as a modern multicultural democracy.

The flag belongs to all of us, not just to some of us. It flies proudly above this parliament as a symbol of unity, not as a symbol of division, and it is certainly not a symbol of hate. To those people who sought to take our flag and use it to spread messages of hate over the weekend, I say this to you: you don't own our flag; we do. The Australian flag belongs to all Australians, no matter where you were born, no matter what language you speak and no matter the colour of your skin. If you seek to use the flag to peddle hatred and fear, you are not defending Australian values; you are betraying them.

The Australian soldiers who have fought and died under our flag did it for a love of this country. They did it for hope of a better future for all Australians. I think it's important to remember that the Anzacs themselves came from all backgrounds. They were Italian migrants, Jews and Asians. Importantly, there were many Indigenous Australians who were diggers among the Anzacs. All of those are too often forgotten. They fought for the great Australian dream, which has always been about having a fair go for people who work hard and have a crack.

When I look around this chamber, I see a lot of immigrants now working here in the Senate to represent Australia and their fellow migrants, like Senator Roberts, from India, and Senator Babet, from Mauritius. It is interesting that the very people calling for immigration bans in this country are, themselves, migrants to this country. If someone could help me make sense of that, I'd be really grateful.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Mulholland, just a moment. Senator Roberts has a point of order.

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

I have not called for an immigration ban; I've called for the banning of mass immigration.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Roberts, that is a debating point. You know it is. Senator Mulholland, please continue.

Corinne Mulholland (Queensland, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The fact is that around only four per cent of Australia's population is Indigenous. That means 96 per cent of us are descendants of immigrants. We are all the descendants of people who came here to chase the great Australian dream of a fair go. So on this day, Australian National Flag Day, 3 September, I encourage you all to reflect on the true meaning of our flag. To me, it represents hope and an opportunity and a love of our great country. It does not represent hate. To those wishing to incite division, I remind you that our flag is a symbol of inclusion, not exclusion, because modern Australia will always be a proud multicultural nation.

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

Sunday changed Australia. It stirred the people. The people are waking because Australia is dying. We can feel it. It's dying at the hands of Labor and the Greens. Sunday terrified you—it absolutely terrified you—because the people woke up. Sunday changed the whole nation. What you have done now is change the whole motion. I will read Senator Hanson's motion:

The need for the Senate to take immediate action to make it an offence to wilfully burn or desecrate the Australian National Flag.

That has been changed under bastardry by the Labor and Greens parties to:

The need for the Senate to recognise that Australia is a nation that welcomes different races, religions and views and today is home to the oldest continuous culture on the planet—

we agree with that—

and to people from more than 300 ancestries. The Australian National Flag, and the other national flags, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags, represent our shared values and our rich history and any actions to desecrate these flags should be condemned.

Rubbish! We have one national flag. I will tell you what Google says about the Aboriginal flag—'It was proclaimed as an official flag of Australia but is not the primary national flag.' It is not a national flag. You don't even know that. That's disgraceful. You don't even know. You said 'the other national flags'. How is the Aboriginal flag a national flag when it doesn't cover the whole of the country, when it doesn't cover the Torres Strait Islands? How is the Torres Strait Islander flag—good people in the Torres Strait; Aboriginals are fine people—a national flag when the flag of the Torres Strait Islands does not cover the whole of the country? These are not national flags. I cannot support this Labor-Greens bastardisation of an amendment.

Sue Lines (President) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Senator Roberts, I would ask you to withdraw that.

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

I withdraw. Look at what they've done to Senator Pauline Hanson. They jailed her, they denigrated her, they infiltrated her party and destroyed it in 1988 and now they are gagging her and changing her motions. Why? For the simple sin of saying what she thinks and saying what the people think. She says what the people think, and you guys do not get that. You just don't get it. She has the spirit of Australia in her heart. She has the spirit of Australia right through every cell of her body. That is what the Australian flag is. It has the spirit of this country, and the spirit is the most important thing of any entity, whether it be a football club, a business, a church, or a country. The spirit is important, and you are killing the spirit of this country. Australia is dying. We need to restore Australia and, instead, of looking at the scarcity that you are inviting on everyone here and the fearmongering and the division, what we need to do is dwell on the abundance. It starts with the government.

Remember this one thing: the people are in the charge of our Constitution, not the government. The government serves the people; the people do not serve the government.

Question agreed to.