Australia needs a new flag.
Australia's current flag has the Union Jack in the corner (or canton). As a quick survey of British colonial flags will reveal, a Union Jack in the corner is the mark of the flag of a British Colony. That was fine in 1901, when Australia was part of the British Empire. But it is inappropriate for an independent country in the 21st century.
Nevertheless, the existing flag is well recognised and popular, and has a lot of history behind it. There have been many other proposed alternative flags, but most of them try to change the flag too much.
Therefore, I propose an evolutionary design. The existing flag has three components: the Union Jack, the Federation Star, and the Southern Cross. My proposal is to keep the latter two, and modify the Australian flag in a simple three step process:
Starting with the current Australian flag, |
Step 1: Remove the Union Jack. |
Step 2: Move the Federation Star up. |
Step 3: Put Uluru in the bottom left hand corner. |
The Southern Cross shows our geography, the Federation Star speaks of our unity, and Uluru is representative of our entire land. The result: One United Southern Land.
Why Uluru?
Rather than just remove the Union Jack, I believe it would be good to replace it with something.
The ideal is something which connects us to our past, but does not uniquely belong to any one group.
The kangaroo is a popular suggestion, but the kangaroo-image has been over commerialised, appearing on a myriad of Australian products.
That leaves me believing that Uluru, or a stylised Uluru which represents the land, is the best alternative to go on our flag. Aborigines feel a deep connection with the land and to represent the land helps to recognise our aboriginal history and heritage, yet neither Uluru nor the land belong solely to Aborigines. And Uluru is a symbol with which all Australians can identify.
Furthermore, I believe the image of the Southern Cross over Uluru is both profoundly spiritual and profondly Australian.
Why this new flag design?
One United Southern Land - an Australian flag for all Australians.
Other Peoples' Designs - a survey of other designs, and why the use of Uluru is an attractive idea for a new Australian Flag.