The federal government has unveiled a new education portal to mark the anniversary of the first time the Aboriginal flag was flown, celebrating its enduring symbolism and significance.
The iconic flag — designed by Luritja artist Harold Thomas — was first raised on July 9, 1971, in Victoria Square/Tarntanyangga in Adelaide. The Torres Strait Islander Flag, designed in 1992 by the late Bernard Namok of Thursday Island, followed 21 years later.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy said both flags are a source of "immense pride" for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
"They are powerful visual representations of connections to family, community and our cultures and languages," she said.
In 1995, the Australian government under then-Prime Minister Paul Keating officially recognised both the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags as national flags under the Flags Act 1953.
In 2022, the Morrison government acquired the copyright to the Aboriginal flag, allowing it to be freely reproduced by the public across all media except flags, pennants, banners, and buntings — which remain exclusively licensed to Carroll & Richardson-Flagworld Pty Ltd.
Senator McCarthy, who previously chaired the Senate Select Committee on the Aboriginal Flag in 2020, said she had long been committed to protecting the flags' significance.
"Since chairing the Senate Select Committee on the Aboriginal flag in 2020, I have been dedicated to ensuring the dignity and integrity of our First Nations flags," she said.
"As we celebrate 50 years of NAIDOC Week, we also celebrate the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags which symbolise the world's oldest continuing cultures."
The newly launched education portal provides a resource for schools and the broader public to learn about the meaning, history, and ongoing importance of the flags. It comes amid renewed political debate, with the flags often targeted in so-called "culture wars".
In 2023, then-Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he would only display the Australian flag (Blue Ensign) at press conferences, arguing that flying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags would "divide our country unnecessarily" and send a "confusing message".
In April this year, he reaffirmed that stance: "The reason my policy is to stand behind one flag is because I want our country to be united under one flag," he said.
"I want our country to be as good as it can be, and we can't be as good as we can be if we're separating people into different groupings."
He also appeared to suggest rejecting the flags would help close the gap.
"We can respect the Indigenous flag and the Torres Strait Island flag, but we unite under one flag, as every other … comparable country does, and that's how we can help close the gap," he said.
The remarks drew strong criticism. Dr Jill Gallagher, CEO of the Victorian Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisation (VACCHO), accused Dutton of using the flags to "promote the very division he is pretending to address".
"Rather than ignore our history, we should stand up and be proud of Indigenous culture, because it is a gift for all Australians," she said at the time.
"Mr Dutton's comments only create further confusion and division in this country at a time when we should be coming together as one."
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Social Justice Commissioner Katie Kiss was also scathing.
"Whether you stand in front of the flags or not has no impact on non-Indigenous Australians or their rights – nor does it cost anything to keep the flags in place," she said.
"This is petty/divisive/unsophisticated politics – surely being a government that addresses Indigenous disadvantage, generations of policy failure and eradicates racism (in all its forms) is what should be election commitments expected by those who put themselves forward to lead the country."
The culture war focus was widely seen as a factor in the Coalition's electoral defeat, with commentators pointing to it as emblematic of a broader disconnect with voters.
