MP’s push to make flag-burning illegal

SEPTEMBER 3, 2015: IT'S National Flag Day, and I want to see acts such as burning the Australian flag at protest events an offence punishable by law.Today we honour the place the flag has in our nationhood, acknowledging the anniversary of the day an Australian flag first flew over the dome of the exhibition building in Melbourne in 1901.And yet last weekend we had a repeat of left-wing protesters burning an Australian flag in a public place; an act which is clearly designed to offend and provoke.This follows another incident of burning the Australian flag at a Reclaim Australia counter-protest in Melbourne in April.These acts of desecration are offensive to me and many of my constituents, and that’s why I will introduce a private member’s bill in Parliament to amend the Flags Act and ensure such actions are against the law.I made an official complaint to the Human Rights Commission following the earlier incident, but my concerns were dismissed.The Human Rights Commission panders to minorities, rather than providing equal protection and access.In its response questioning the validity of my complaint, they HRC stated:   ‘… it is not clear how it could be argued that the burning of the flag in these particular circumstances was done because of your race, national origin or ethnic origin, or the race, national or ethnic origin of Australians of European descent.’It doesn’t matter how they dress up this argument, if burning the Australian national flag at a rally isn’t a public act designed to offend someone on the basis of their nationality, I don’t know what is.[box style="1 or 2"]Flags Amendment (Protecting Australian Flags) Bill 20151  After section 7Insert:7A  Protecting Australian flags             (1)  A person commits an offence if:                     (a)  the person does one of the following acts:                              (i)  burning, or otherwise damaging or destroying, an Australian flag;                             (ii)  defacing, defiling, mutilating, trampling upon, or otherwise desecrating or dishonouring, an Australian flag; and                     (b)  the person does so reckless as to whether the act will:(i) cause death, injury or violence to another person in a public place; or                             (ii)  cause damage or destruction to property (other than the Australian flag mentioned in paragraph (a)) in a public place; or                            (iii)  create public disorder or a public disturbance.Penalty:  100 penalty units.             (2)  A reference in subsection (1) to an Australian flag includes a reference to an Australian flag that has been applied to something else, including by being woven in, impressed on, worked into or annexed or affixed to that other thing.             (3)  Subsection (1) does not apply to the extent (if any) that it would infringe any constitutional doctrine of implied freedom of political communication.             (4)  In this section:Australian flag means:                     (a)  the Australian National Flag; or                     (b)  the Australian Red Ensign; or                     (c)  any other flag or ensign appointed under section 5.public place includes any place to which the public have access as of right or by invitation, whether express or implied and whether or not a charge is made for admission to the place. [/box]Many people are surprised to discover it’s not an offence already, and it’s something that needs to be clearly defined in law.