Aussies who burn the flag or vandalise war memorials could soon face jail time under a Coalition push that would also make it harder to change the date of Australia Day.
Opposition Leader Angus Taylor on Sunday unveiled plans for an Australian National Symbols and Heritage Protection Bill, arguing the country’s national symbols and historic memorials need stronger legal protection.
The plan would create a new federal offence for serious public desecration of the Australian flag, where someone is reckless as to whether their actions incite hatred or violence, threaten public order or cause a public disturbance.
‘People are welcome to make political statements on Australia and they can criticise Australia all they like but burning the flag goes a step further,’ Taylor told news24.
‘It is a symbol, it is part of our nation and our heritage that really matters. And I know Australians feel very strongly about this.
‘To see it being burnt is unacceptable to most Australians and certainly unacceptable to me. And I think it’s appropriate that a penalty of up to a year imprisonment is established.’
The Australian flag was burned at an ‘Invasion Day’ protest in Brisbane earlier this year
The Coalition would also introduce tough new federal offences carrying jail terms for deliberately damaging, defacing or desecrating war memorials, statues, plaques and other monuments honouring Australia’s history.
Assistant Immigration Minister Matt Thistlethwaite described the proposed ban as ‘unnecessary’, accusing Taylor of ‘trying to chase’ One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.
‘I agree with John Howard that this is unnecessary, that there’s been several attempts over the last 10 years, or longer than that, 30 years, around this issue,’ he said.
‘It may impinge on Australians’ freedom of expression and their freedom of speech.
‘There’s a bit of an element of desperation there, trying to chase One Nation and further to the right and to capture some of those votes.’
Thistlethwaite argued the law was already strong enough for Australians who incited violence.
The Pioneer Monument in Melbourne’s Flagstaff Gardens (pictured) was destroyed
‘And there have been people arrested for that, where they’ve burnt flags and they’ve put people in danger. So, we don’t think that this is necessary,’ he said.
‘It’s been tried on several occasions over many, many years. The parliament’s generally always rejected it because of the notion of upholding freedom of speech for Australians and that freedom of political expression.’
The proposal follows a string of incidents across Victoria and Queensland in recent months.
In western Victoria, a war memorial in Dobie was vandalised, with a plaque honouring local veterans stolen, political graffiti sprayed across the site and surrounding vegetation damaged.
The attack came just weeks after vandals struck the century-old Beaufort war memorial, painting slogans such as ‘death to Australia’ and ‘death to the ADF’ on the monument.
Earlier this year, Melbourne’s 155-year-old Pioneer Monument in Flagstaff Gardens was also vandalised and covered with anti-Australian graffiti.
‘You know, people are welcome to make political statements on Australia and they can criticise Australia all they like but burning the flag goes a step further,’ Taylor said
On Australia Day, an Australian flag was set alight during an ‘Invasion Day’ protest in Brisbane.
Taylor said Australians were becoming increasingly frustrated by attacks on national symbols and memorials.
‘Australians are rightly proud of our country, its history and what generations of Australians have built together,’ he said.
‘Our flag represents the country we love. Our war memorials honour Australians who put their lives on the line for us. And Australia Day is our national day that unites us all.’
He said the Coalition would not allow important national symbols to be diminished.
‘These things belong to the Australian people and they should not be torn down, smashed, desecrated, or quietly stripped of their significance,’ Taylor said.
‘The Coalition will protect these symbols and memorials and we won’t be shy in standing up for the national pride that we should all feel for our great country.’
The legislation would also entrench Australia Day on January 26 in Commonwealth law, meaning any future change would require approval through a national plebiscite.
Shadow Attorney-General Michaelia Cash argued the reforms would strike a balance between free speech and protecting national heritage.
‘Freedom of speech is fundamental in Australia, but freedom of speech does not mean freedom to destroy,’ Cash said.
‘There is a clear difference between making a political argument and taking a can of spray paint to the names of Australians who fought and died for this country.’
Shadow minister and Army veteran Phillip Thompson said attacks on war memorials deeply affected veterans, serving personnel and their families.
‘When someone paints ‘death to the ADF’ across a war memorial, Australians know instinctively that something is badly wrong,’ he said.
‘Those memorials carry the names of ordinary Australians who left their homes, their families and their communities to serve our country. Many never came home.
‘We will make sure there are real consequences.’
The Coalition has yet to release the full details of the proposed penalties, but says the new laws would provide stronger protections for Australia’s flag, war memorials, monuments, plaques and other sites of national significance.
