Another brilliant piece from a GUNNAS WRITING MASTERCLASS WRITER
The first time I realised that the Australian flag should be changed I was 30 and travelling in New Zealand. Yes they have the same flag as ours – well nearly. And will they become a state of Australia? No. Actually we should become a state of their country. They have far better morals and ethics and environmental asspirations than Australia and their ethical treatment of their indigenous populations puts ours to shame.
So why change flags – well do we worship the flag or is the flag representative of our country? Yep ours is representative of our country 100 years ago.
Next minute we would roll the dice and gamble on a change of flag and the joining of countries. Maybe it’s not such a gamble. The options of six choices versus a continuing on with a current flag and connection to the monarchy and a history that many wish to forget.
Becoming an independent nation would be awesome. But we would have to trust our neighbours and are we up to that. Not yep, but we have to work to get to that as it is what many Australians want.
I think it’s dead. The flag that is. It has lost its heart. It’s cold like a gem in the earth. It’s shaped how we found it. A gem shaped heart with no currency – only trotted out at special occasions for kids to see and sing for – do you know the full words to the flags national anthem. Do you sing it with real pride and confidence. The flag is dead, well in tatters anyway. So let’s bury it. Now for a replacement. What defines us Aussies?
All I could see was sky – maybe that should be our flag – Blue – but which blue – aqua for the ocean that surrounds us, baby blue because that’s how we start, or navy because apparently we need physical protection. No. Some of our migrants came by boat. How many Vietnamese travelled here and have inspired out food culture and history and their kids have become our doctors, lawyers, comedians and artists. Their parents have probably seen too much sky and blue in their journeys here. The flag to be Australian should be based on our history. 40,000 years of it carries a fair weight. Ok we have the Aboriginal flag as a base. Now let’s add the 4 points of the compass to it. That’s where the rest of our multicultural melting pot come from. Already I can feel the change.org emails zinging off and social media trolling- and yep cafe conversation happening too.
Until finally change happens and an aboriginal flag with a sequin garter sewn around the sun perfectly represents the diversity and sparkle of our population- the men, the women and the gender neutral and those still not sure, who make up our country and create and share our history to make Australia a better place in the world.
It was brilliant, the new flag. It carried the feeling of the people and the country and the change that was possible. We created the dice but stacked it in our favour – putting the results we wanted on all the sides. The people, the houses, the leaders, the environment, the transport and the food that we wanted. The energy we created. Energising the people and the systems. Change is possible – you need to listen and think, and talk. In your groups and towns and streets about what you want and listen to what your kids want. It’s about them really. It’s your legacy. It’s not about you – that’s your diary. Leave history to write your dreams.