A controversial protest act has prompted furore after two men set the Australian flag on fire at a Brisbane “Invasion Day” demonstration.
The rally, one of several nationwide protests, brought together thousands of First Nations people and their allies to protest the celebration of Australia Day.
Protesters consider January 26 a day that marks the genocidal dispossession experienced by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people instead of one of national pride.
The Australian flag was set alight during a demonstration at Queens Gardens in Brisbane. Picture: NewsWire/Tertius Pickard
The man burning the flag has been identified as Indigenous elder Moojidji.
He said the flag did not “represent all of us”, as per a Courier Mail report.
“We chant for land rights,” he said.
“We’re not just chanting for ourselves as human beings, we’re chanting for country.”
But Education Minister Jason Clare blasted the stunt, telling the Today Show: “I think most Australians would be looking at that idiot burning the flag, just shaking their head … this bloke’s obviously an attention-seeker.”
Jason Clare slammed the stunt. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
While he would not be drawn on whether flag burning should become a federal offence, Mr Clare said: “ … I’ll defer to the experts here about what works. I do remember John Howard saying that if you did this, you just turned these people into martyrs.
“But we do need to send a message to these people that this is a country we should be proud of
“This is a flag we should be proud of. It’s not a flag we should be burning.”
Wilson condemns stunt, attacks Labor’s voting record
Liberal frontbencher Tim Wilson later condemned the act of protest, telling Sky News: “It’s horrific, because at the end of the day, we have these symbols because they reflect all of us, and we shouldn’t be burning the Australian flag, nor should we be tolerating people burning the Australian flag.”
But he also raised Labor’s voting history on federal offences and accused the government of hypocrisy.
Liberal MP Tim Wilson was critical of Labor’s decision to block flag-burning becoming a federal offence. Picture: NewsWire / Martin Ollman
Last week, Labor shot down a flag-burning amendment – spearheaded by the Coalition – to its hate speech laws, passed in the wake of the Bondi terror attack.
If the amendment had passed, the act of burning an Australian flag could have been prosecuted under federal law.
“The Labor Party voted against a change in law to stop the burning of the flag,” Mr Wilson said.
“So he can say, Jason Clare can say, as much as he wants (about) how much he doesn’t like it.
“He voted to allow people to keep doing it.”
