Whilst I don't agree with burning anyone's flag I do find that the Australian Flag contains certain racist elements that it would be better to remove.

Aboriginal Australians shouldn't have any privileges that other Australians don't have.
Legislation based on race is racist legislation.
Welfare based on race is racist welfare.

No Government form should ask ones race, except the Census (which is anonymous).

One would hope that all Aboriginals who want to have a separate Nation will return their next welfare payment and refuse all others.

Lexi,

The new matilda is an almost exclusively greenie magazine whether it claims this or not.

The PM's security detail were very experienced officers, whose main objective was the security of the PM.

with all this platitude..re insalt
lets rub salt into the wound

reply to sense
http://forum.onlineopinion.com.au/thread.asp?discussion=4941&page=0

common/sense
[for once]..to quote..

""The nation of Australia..was actually born on January 1st,..1901.""

wether it was vandiemens land...new holland...
or simply the great south land's..australia didnt egsist..
till it was created..[or granted..to egsist by its people]

not some other foreign
[colonising]..british govt's act
[australia act]...lol

your a colon[y]
get your own act
dont take insult/consult

there is no flag
described..in its constitution

as we still have an armed occupation force
CONTROLED..by a representative of the queen
who serve to protect the queen and her heirs
we teqniclly cant even claim..a flag..

cause we arnt even a self aware declared independant nation
maybe at best a colony...[lets face it the australia ACT...had to be ratiefied..by british govt

look at who gives orsder..to the armed forces
a queens govener[general]...lol

if anything the flag stands for ignorance

we are a funny convoliution of states gov generals
and a federal gov general..who has final yeah or nay
indeed teqniclly cant sign any law...by by the queens mark
[thus cant even..join the united nations..unless ratified..by hrh]

sao that hasnt happend
but other things have...[funny how lies only grow bigger]

""This inauguration..date
was legally and constitutionally proclaimed by Queen Victoria on 17 September, 1900...This is our true birthday as a nation.""

lol if nation we be
or colony..or collective of colonies

""December 31st..should also be made a public holiday
as it was on December 31st,..1900.""

till we direct...the gg to leave
we are a colony..under occupation

that deserves more thinking
than blustering..[spin]..by an anti monarcist pm

Dear SM,

Thank You for sharing your "insider" knowledge
with us regarding "New Matilda," and the
ACT police officers. That's one of the great
things about a public forum - you post and learn.

The actions of protesters at the Tent Embassy went too far . If they have committed any offence , and those who committed it can be identified , they should be prosecuted .

The flag should not have been burnt . This type of protest is about as original as the " What do we want ? When do we want it ? " chants upon which so many protesters , whether of right or left persuasion , rely whenever they protest .

However , I do not agree with the way in which many people attach superstitious reference to the present Australian flag . It is
" the " Australian flag , but it is not " an " Australian flag , being the Union Jack [ British flag ] with a few stars added grudgingly . It should be changed to a flag which is exclusively Australian , without any foreign flag superimposed .

I aslo agree with other comments regarding the way in which bogans like those at Cronulla a few years ago , and Pauline Hanson , drape themselves and their 4WDs , in the present flag .

This type of action is neither Australian , nor even British . It is borrowed from American racists , and is used , on behalf of that section of the Australian population which is of little benefit to Australian society generally , to claim some form of superiority over those who come from non - English speaking backgrounds [ particularly if they are not fair skinned ]. The Ku Klax Klan did a similar thing with the Stars and Stripes , in the 60 s .

The silly expression "un Australian " should be dropped . It is borrowed from the " un American " epithet of the 1950 s Mc Carthy era .

Lexi,

Here is an accurate summary of the "New Matilda" from the Sydney Morning Herald:

"But New Matilda was never intended as a local New Yorker. It was from the outset an avowed journal of the left. The end of the tidy bipolar politics of the Cold War has been good for the left, by depriving it of a convenient rallying point. It's been forced to leave to its reactionary detractors the peevish sniping and polemic technique of reverse-engineering cherry-picked facts into an argument supporting a predetermined conclusion"

The New Matilda from which you almost exclusively quote, and identify with is not held in any regard by any serious journalists, and would appear to have the integrity and research of a high school rag.

As for the PM's body guard, the recent newspaper write ups on them make it clear as to their training and experience, so ignorance of this is possible only for the illiterate or ill informed, and no insider knowledge is required.