Veteran and Now-Liberal MP Pledges Motion to Criminalise Burning the Australian Flag

Thompson’s proposal comes after a group of masked pro-Palestine demonstrators were condemned for burning Australia’s national flag in Melbourne.

A dog wears an Australian flag, as they wait to see King Charles III outside Admiralty House in Sydney, Australia on Oct. 20, 2024. Mark Baker - Pool/Getty Images

Australia’s shadow assistant minister for defence has pledged to move a motion to make burning the national flag a criminal offence.

Phillip Thompson, Liberal member for Herbert, Queensland, and who has served in East Timor and Afghanistan, stated that he would move the motion in the next sitting of federal Parliament, which is scheduled to begin on Aug. 25.