A Question of Colour

In the poll I mentioned previously, the answers to the question, "What colour or combination of colours do you think are most appropriate for the Australian flag?" were also recorded:

Again, the essentially conservative attitude of Australians towards the idea of a new flag is highlighted. 47% of respondents only mentioned colours already in the flag, and in at least 52% of cases some of the colours were already there. However, a flag must be able to unite all of its people - and red, white and blue might be seen to be too "British". Also, a poll from January 1997 (again, found at Ausflag) found that 66% of respondents supported using Aboriginal elements in the design.

It would therefore seem appropriate to use some Aboriginal colours. Both the Union Jack and the Aboriginal flag use red in their flags - it would therefore be appropriate to include it as a "common colour". I felt it should be at the hoist for a number of reasons; firstly, it reinforces the similarity of the stripe to the Cross of St. George; secondly, as the "common colour", it emphasises the idea of putting Australia ahead of its parts (the background of the canton, the honour point, will be red). The fimbriation and stars would therefore have to be a "metal" - either white or gold. The remainder could be either black or blue. If we there is to be balanced representation of Aboriginal and British colours, then the two alternatives are red, white and black or red, gold and blue. The former is more evolutionary; the change from white to gold is, in my opinion, more obvious than that from blue to black. (However, I have used red, blue and gold later on.) Therefore, here is my proposal for a new Australian National Flag:

This flag can also carry a message of reconciliation in another way: white can stand for settlers, black for indigenous peoples, and the red for the red blood that all humans share.