Dear Aidan,

Have you ever been to Sydney? One of the first comments people from overseas say after visiting Sydney goes something like 'I thought I was in Hong Kong". In another 10-15 years urban Australia will be almost totally Chinese. Your typical Aussie in suburban Sydney is selling up and heading for the bush to make way for the influx of Chinese. I reckon that every second person you see on the streets of greater Sydney is Chinese. I don't know what part of Australia you live in but I'm pretty sure from your comments that it definitely isn't Sydney. Why don't you come and have a look for yourself if you don't believe what I am saying is true.

As early as 2006, Brisbane to take an example was over 25% migrants. That is from the ABS.

The cost of providing the necessary road, health, energy and water infrastructure is horrendous and has been breaking the backs of young workers especially for years. Simply put, the taxes and housing costs are so high through unnecessarily extreme immigration numbers that government reports state that young Aussie couples are not able to have the children they have worked and planned for. -Because they cannot afford to do so (or cannot afford a child until too late for the woman's fertility).

On many threads previously, I have provided population break-downs from reliable sources as the government 'Population Atlas'. However there is no way astroturfing lobbyists for 'Open Borders' and 'asylum seekers' and who have been sucking $millions out of the taxpayer for years are going to be interested in numerical and financial facts. But then the 'Big End of Town' is not interested either and for obvious self-serving reasons.

That is even where Labor State Premiers themselves have admonished the federal government and pleaded for the excessive immigration to pause and continue more sensibly and at a greatly reduced level.

The three political parties who monopolise the media, Labor, LNP and Greens, have the tiger by the tail where excessive immigration and the reckless 'diversity-Australia-has-to-have' policies are concerned. All are caught up in a Ponzi scheme of immigration, cynically serving their own political interests, which is usually the short term goals of winning marginal seats (in the Weast of Sydney for example) and political populism where the tabloid media are concerned (and the ABC is fighting hard to be included in that category).

A new flag is just another cynical diversion to keep discussion and any close examination away from the problems of over-zealous immigration, new records that were set annually for years, and the effects of that on the exasperated public.

Thanks to everyone for their opinions.

There obviously are pros and cons concerning replacing
our flag. These should be decided by the Australian public
in which direction the country wants to go.
My preference would be for a new flag - and there are so
many designs to chose from. However I would prefer that
we become a Republic first - hence the removal of what
represents the UK from the flag. I would prefer for us
to be an Independent nation, ruling ourselves, and not
tied to a Head of State who represents another country
and their interests - hence a new flag. I think the
Southern Cross should be part of the design - but not
the Commonwealth star.

Foxy,

I don't see any motivation to change the flag until such time as we become a republic. While I support becoming a republic, I agree with Turnbull that this is not the time to hold a referendum on the issue, primarily because given the mood of the public presently it is very likely to lose. This will not only cost $ms but block any further attempt for another couple of decades.

As for changes in the flag design, I am a traditionalist preferring references to heritage rather than populist current issues than could change in a decade or two.

You can tell we are in for a bad time. It is always the same when things are going pear shaped that the old red herrings of republics and new flags pop up to distract the proles.
Next on the agenda will be another push for same sex marriage.
It is of course not going to make one iota of difference to the Armageddon getting closer by the day of global warming, huge refugee intakes, peak oil ( yes it has peaked but the Saudis are playing silly buggers with flooding the market) and of course our own state of politics which could well be screened as the latest comedy.
Oh well as the sea level rises. Sydney gets blown away with a Tornado, all the trucks and cars stop dead with no fuel after the Iranians block the Straits of Hormuz, Europe collapses due to millions of refugees and of course the BIG financial crisis hits.
Still we will go down with (all) new flags flying.