Motion to hang indigenous flags in senate rejected by government
A motion to hang the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags in parliament has been rejected in the Senate.
Labor motioned for the flags to be included with the national flag, but the Government and some Crossbenchers voted against it 28-29, saying the only "appropriate" flag to be hung in the Senate is the Australian flag.
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Labor Senator for the Northern Territory, Malarndirri McCarthy, said the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags have been recognised as flags of Australia since 1995 under the Flags Act 1953.
"Why is it in this week of NAIDOC, could the government be so mean spirited. The government has actually had this motion before them for three months," Ms Malarndirri said in parliament today.
Under motion 753 of today's sitting, Ms McCarthy and fellow Labor Senator Patrick Dodson both moved that "the flags be displayed alongside the Australian flag in the Senate chamber" and "be installed within three weeks" of the motion passing.
Billy T, Senator Pat Dodson, Senator Malarndirri McCarthy, Ngambri custodian Paul House, Labor MP Warren Snowdon and Labor MP Linda Burney during a Labor caucus event to celebrate NAIDOC week at Parliament House in Canberra. Alex Ellinghausen / Sydney Morning Herald
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"All three flags are flying outside Parliament House during NAIDOC Week, yet not inside the two houses of Parliament," Ms McCarthy tweeted after the announcement.
The Senate's decision has been slammed online with many pointing out that it is NAIDOC week, a celebration of Australia's indigenous history before European settlers arrived in 1770.
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