February 18, 2025
Gold Investing

Gold Coast City Council backs down on Australia Day flag change after public outrage: ‘Ignorance’


A council has cancelled controversial plans to hand out double-sided Australian and Aboriginal flags at citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day following backlash.

The flags were first distributed at a ceremony by Gold Coast City Council in September, but have been scrapped with Opposition Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price describing them as ‘ludicrous’.

Ms Price doubled down claiming the Gold Coast City Council was ignorant and causing unnecessary controversy on an already sensitive day. 

‘The Australian flag is representative of the Australian people and, therefore, I believe it should be the only flag that applies during Australian citizenship ceremonies,’ she told The Australian.

‘The Aboriginal flag is not a national flag. If they actually knew something about the Australian flag, they’d understand that Aboriginal people are represented through the Southern Cross. 

‘It’s ignorance on behalf of the council. Activism and division doesn’t bring communities together.’

Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate’s office said the flags, which were paid for by the ratepayers, had been permanently canned for the hundreds of new Australians who will become citizens this Sunday.

‘A mistake was made and we have corrected the mistake,’ a spokesman from the mayor’s office said.

Councillor Brooke Patterson said she was only made aware of the flags by Gold Coast residents and that their distribution had not been approved by the mayor or the other councillors.

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has described Gold Coast City Council's Australia Day citizenship ceremony flag idea as 'ludicrous' and 'ignorant'

Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price has described Gold Coast City Council’s Australia Day citizenship ceremony flag idea as ‘ludicrous’ and ‘ignorant’

‘I didn’t believe it,’ Ms Patterson said.

‘Citizenship ceremonies are a time to really respect our tradition and to recognise the future of our new Australians.’

In 2022 the Labor government removed a mandate for councils to host citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.

It led to more than 80 councils around the country moving their annual citizenship ceremonies from January 26 due to feedback from Indigenous communities.

But councils are now facing increased scrutiny if they boycott Australia Day. 

Ms Patterson said her council’s decision to create the double-sided flags was ‘completely bureaucratic’ and led by the events team, which plans and manages the city’s citizenship ceremonies.

‘It sounds like it was a young team who had this inspired idea to change our flag,’ she said.

‘This was an idea that came from within the bureaucracy, without elected reps being able to give any opinion on it.’

Southport resident David Keys first alerted Ms Patterson’s office to the flags after he heard about them on New Year’s Day. 

He told Ms Patterson she would lose his vote if something wasn’t done.

‘It’s something I don’t agree with. It’s not around the Aboriginal flag at all, it’s around swearing allegiance to the commonwealth of Australia,’ Mr Keys said.

Australian National Flag protocols state the flag should be ‘used with respect and dignity’ and that two flags cannot be flown from the same pole.

Australian flags will now be distributed at Gold Coast Council citizenship events and the code as outlined for citizenship ceremonies by the Department of Home Affairs would be adhered to.

Opposition leader Peter Dutton has continually put pressure on Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to force mayors to host citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day.

Mr Dutton has said he would consider legislating January 26 as the country’s national day if he wins the federal election this year.



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