Peter Dutton Vows to Remove Indigenous Flags from Press Events if Elected
The opposition leader claims displaying multiple flags divides the nation, prompting backlash from Indigenous leaders and government officials.
- Peter Dutton announced he would only stand in front of the Australian national flag at press events if elected prime minister, excluding the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
- Dutton argued that displaying multiple flags creates unnecessary division and emphasized unity under a single national flag.
- Indigenous leaders and government officials, including Minister for Indigenous Australians Malarndirri McCarthy, criticized Dutton's stance as divisive and harmful to reconciliation efforts.
- The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags were officially recognized as flags of Australia under the Flags Act in 1995, symbolizing the nation's Indigenous heritage.
- Critics, including former human rights commissioner Mick Gooda, described Dutton's position as an attempt to erase Indigenous representation from Australian politics.