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.

“As a soldier I wore the Australian flag on my shoulder, proud to serve underneath it. My mates who were killed in combat, died in training or succumbed to their war within had the Australian flag draped over their coffins,” Thompson wrote in a Facebook post on Aug. 11.

“It is deeply personal and an insult to every single Australian every time one of these thugs puts a torch to our national flag without consequence.”

The Liberal MP’s proposal comes after a group of masked pro-Palestine demonstrators were condemned for burning the Australian national flag in Melbourne in early August. Some protestors were also seen spray-painting “Abolish Australia” on the road.

Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan described the move as “a deplorable action.”

Thompson’s notice of motion called the behaviour of protestors burning the national flag “abhorrent” and “disrespectful.”

“It goes against our values as a nation,” it reads.

Other than criminalising desecration and/or burning of the national flag, the notice also calls on the government to punish those supporting designated terrorist groups.

In Australia, the act of burning, defacing, or defiling the national flag is not criminalised under the Flags Act 1953 or any specific legislation.

However, if such actions lead to public disorder or safety concerns, they could potentially be addressed under other laws that cover public order and safety.

While multiple attempts have been made over the years to introduce legislation that would make such acts illegal at the state and federal levels, these efforts have all failed to carry through.

The discussion around flag desecration usually involves considerations of freedom of expression. While burning or defacing the flag is seen as disrespectful or offensive by many, it is generally protected under the principles of free speech, as noted in an article by Aus Pub Law, a collaborative blogging project with expert commentary and analysis.

Aboriginal protesters burn an Australian flag during a rally in coincidence with the G-20 summit in Brisbane, Australia, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014. AP Photo/Dean Saffron

Former Liberal Prime Minister John Howard, for instance, stated during his tenure that he believed burning a flag should not be made into a criminal offence.

“I see that kind of thing as just as expression, however offensive to the majority of the Australian community, an expression of political opinion,” he said after a flag was burned in 2006 on Australia Day, which some Aboriginal groups refer to as “Invasion Day.”

The two latest attempts to criminalise burning Australia’s national flag before Thompson were initiated by Daniel Young, a former member of the Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party, and George Christensen, then Nationals MP, in late 2015 and after Australia Day in 2016, respectively.

Young introduced the Upholding Australian Values (Protecting Our Flags) Bill 2015 (Vic) to the Victorian Legislative Council, and Christensen introduced the Flags Amendment (Protecting Australian Flags) Bill 2016 (Cth) to the federal parliament.

Although the Victorian Bill sparked extensive debate in the Legislative Council, the discussion of the Federal Bill did not go beyond the Second Reading Speech delivered by Christensen. Both Bills ultimately lapsed, and neither has been pursued further.