THE Australian flag is a symbol that the nation can be unified under, where all Australians can no matter where they are from can be seen as one.
Member for Northern Victoria Region Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell has moved a motion in the Legislative Council calling on the State Government to criminalise the desecration of both the Australian and Victorian flags in the State of Victoria.
“There is too much divisiveness in our society; I believe our flags represent our unity as Victorians and Australians,” Ms Tyrrell said.
“The act of burning an Australian or Victorian flag should be a crime, and I call on Premier Jacinta Allan to enact appropriate legislation to make it so.”
In her motion, Ms Tyrrell referenced a recent poll commissioned by the Institute of Public Affairs that found 77 per cent of the 1,009 people polled believed that burning the Australian national flag should be against the law.
After a spirited debate in the Legislative Council the motion was ultimately defeated.
