Two MPs want burning the Australian flag to be made illegal, arguing the act is not a ‘harmless protest’ and pointing to other countries that have outlawed flag burning.
Nationals backbencher Pat Conaghan and independent Rebekha Sharkie have introduced bills to criminalise burning the Australian flag after Indigenous leader Moojidji lit the flag while addressing a crowd at an Invasion Day rally in Brisbane last month.
Moojidji said he burned the flag to challenge Australia’s legal legitimacy.
Sharkie took it further by including the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
She wants flag burners to be given a maximum two‑year sentence for a first offence and a minimum one‑year sentence for later offences.
She argued that Australia should follow France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Spain, Poland and other nations by banning the burning of the national flag.
‘Burning a national flag is a criminal offence in many nations,’ Sharkie said.
‘Across Asia, it’s an offence in India, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, or indeed, Israel.’
‘Across the Americas, whether you’re in Argentina, Brazil, Cuba or Mexico, or even Nicaragua, it recognises that to burn or desecrate the national flag is a criminal offence.
‘And in New Zealand, our neighbours, it carries up to a $5,000 fine.’
Sharkie rejected the idea that flag burning was freedom of expression when asked by Daily Mail.
‘Burning of a national flag is not a freedom of expression. It’s an action designed to divide and incite hatred. I recognise the importance of political expression, but there’s a clear line between legitimate protest and burning a flag to deliberately inflame division,’ she said.
‘Australians have a long and proud tradition of free speech and peaceful protest, and this bill doesn’t seek to undermine that.’
Conaghan also introduced an amendment to the Criminal Code to forbid burning, destruction, desecration or other serious dishonouring of the Australian National Flag or the Australian Red Ensign – Australia’s maritime flag.
Conaghan argued on Monday that ‘millions of Australians’ supported his bill.
‘Mr Speaker, the Australian flag and the Australian Red Ensign are not abstract ideas,’ he told the House of Representatives.
‘They are not props for political theatre. They are national symbols earned through sacrifice, service and a shared history. And when those symbols are burned or deliberately desecrated, it is not an act of harmless protest.
‘It is an act that strikes at the heart of our nation, our respect and our cohesion.
‘That is why we must seriously consider making the burning or desecration of the Australian flag and the Australian Ensign a criminal offence.’
His amendment suggests penalties of up to $16,500 or 12 months behind bars for a first flag burning offence.
A second offence would be a minimum sentence of 12 months, while non-citizens could have their visa cancelled.
In 2023, Conaghan conducted a survey, titled Pat’s Biggest Survey 2023, where respondents from his electorate, Cowper, were polled about national issues.
The poll showed high levels of support for celebrating Australia Day on January 26.
Swimming great Dawn Fraser called for people who burn the Australian flag to be jailed or deported, following the Invasion Day protests last month
‘I think anyone who burns our flag does not respect our country,’ she told News Corp.
‘And if they don’t respect our country, if they come from another country they should be sent back.
‘But if they are Australians and they’ve burnt our flag, they should go straight to jail.’
Queensland Premier David Crisafulli condemned the Invasion Day protest incident as ‘disgraceful’ and confirmed he would support a federal ban on flag burning, while noting the issue falls outside state jurisdiction.
‘It’s a symbol of who we are as a nation,’ he said. ‘We should be proud of that.’
Sharkie also highlighted how the Albanese government did not support an opposition amendment to its anti-hate law reforms which would have made it a criminal offence to burn the Australian flag.
‘The government didn’t accept that,’ she said.
‘So this bill actually seeks to bring us all together to look at all three national flags and say the same rule should apply.
‘And it also draws a line in the sand that says this behaviour is unacceptable.’
Federal leaders remain split, with some warning against escalating tensions while others argue national symbols deserve explicit legal protection.
Supporters of the Invasion Day protest said flag burning was a form of political expression.
Senator Pauline Hanson has called flag burners ‘un-Australian.’
Both bills will be debated on Tuesday.
Daily Mail contacted Conaghan for further comment.