PM Transcripts

FOR MEDIA TUESDAY, 6 JULY 1982
THE AUSTRALIAN FLAG
Why does the Labor Party want to cause divisiveness in
Australia by seeking to change the Australian Flag?
Labor is now committed to getting rid of our Flag.
The Australian Flag was chosen by Australians for Australia.
Many thousands of men and women have fought and died under it.
Our Flag stands for the free way of life that Australians
cherish. It is a symbol of liberty to refugees and oppressed people
from around the world.
*,, Both main Political Parties have chosen it for their emblem.
It is a symbol of national unity. In trying to change the
Flag the ALI) is again seeking to divide the nation because
there are countless Australians with a passionate belief in
the Flag. Why does Labor have no pride in our Flag?
What sort of political party is it that cynically drapes the
flag around its conference while it commits a Labor Government
to dumping the same Flag?
We should look forw7ard to the Bicentenary in 1988 as a year
which marks our desire to work together as one people, a year
to celebrate our achievements as a nation. It should not be
a year marked with the divisiveness that the Labor Party is
now promoting.
If the ALP thinks that the Flag is inadequate -perhaps that
is a reflection of their own sense of inferiority.