Dear Austin,

Thank You, and I fully agree
with your suggestion.
I've been thinking along the exact same lines.

Dear Cherry,

Thanks for your input.

What is logical and sensible is to have
our flag reflecting the image we see at night
above Australia as a symbol for us all.
That is the Southern Cross, and a few large stars.
Which gives unity to us all below the Ssouthern
Cross and people of all cultures can identify
with that.

The Indigenous people of Australia have been
under that Southern Cross for the past fourty
thousand years.

Dear Col,

"If it ain't broke don't fix it?" Perhaps a more apt
statement would be, "Is it still relevant to us today?"
This is not a question of fixing something that's not
broken. It is a question of relevance and National
Identity - we need to look to the future, not remain
in the past.

I agree with Ludwig, in that the flag shouldn't change unless we have some kind of new 'era' in Australia, without all this deceit and lying we have to put up with.

As Ludwig try to point out, we live under a British "ACT of the Australian Constitution" Why else are the Gov.Reps. sworn in by the Queen's representative? If we had our own Constitution, present Gov. would represent Foreign agents.
I reckon the Southern Cross mixed with Australian Aboriginal colours and design would do just fine!
Not to forget our own (not borrowed) Constitution put in place!

That Union Jack in the corner of our flag represents a very large piece of OUR history, and it is every bit as much OUR history as it is modern Britain's.

If people find our flag too similar to Britains, then it seems to me the better course is to tell the British to find a new flag. I don't intend giving up any part of my nations heritage to Britain or anyone else.

Think about it a little. Whilst Australia is no doubt more culturally diverse than modern Britain, the ancestry of many perhaps most Australians, is British. It makes no more sense for us to give up the Union Jack than for any one of us to give up our surname because we move house. As for relevance, if our ancestors aren't relevant to our flag, then what is? Of course not every Australian shares a British heritage, but that's why the Union Jack should only occupy a portion of the flag.

For me, seeing all those other countries with the Union Jack on their flag reminds me of how Australia shares considerable common history with many other countries. Far from making me cringe, it makes me proud to be linked by history, to so many other countries. I certainly am not concerned that nobody knows who we are. Concerns like that are for small countries clamouring for recognition. I don't feel Australia is one of those any more. Australia's position on the Olympic medal tally ought to show you that we have nothing to feel inadequate about.

I love my sun burnt country, pretty much the way it is, and while there are few things that do need changing, the flag isn't one of them!

Well Kalin, The Union Jack could be altered slightly while retaining some of the elements. The US flag has many references to the British flag and British colony flags in it's colours and colonial structure You could even take most of Union Jack away and you would be left with the red cross on white, which I think represents England proper, or the important central UK at least, anyway. I would also like to see some aboriginal recognition in such a new flag, even if it was a single colour introduced.

Please keep the ideas coming.

This is great.

Perhaps we can have a National competition on
the design of a new flag?

Mixing in the old heritages with the new, and
Aboriginal colours as well.

We could end up with something very Australian.