Opposition leader Peter Dutton is facing growing criticism after he revealed that he would only speak in front of the Australian national flag if he becomes prime minister.
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags have been displayed alongside the Australian flag at press conferences, speeches and events since the Albanese government was elected in 2022.
But Dutton said on Tuesday having multiple flags symbolises division.
"I'm very strongly of the belief that we are a country united under one flag, and if we're asking people to identify with different flags, no other country does that, and we are dividing our country unnecessarily," he said.
"We should have respect for the Indigenous flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag, but they are not our national flags."
Indigenous Australians Minister Malarndirri McCarthy was among those critical of Dutton's remarks, saying on Tuesday he was "unfit to be prime minister" and sought to "divide Australians".
"The Australian Aboriginal Flag and Torres Strait Islander Flag were proclaimed flags of Australia under section 5 of the Flags Act 1953 on 14 July 1995," she said.
"Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander culture is the oldest continuing culture in the world, and I believe all Australians should take great pride in that."
Meanwhile, Labor's Linda Burney,
earlier this year, said Dutton's stance was "no surprise".
"This is the man who gave no support to the [Voice to Parliament] Referendum. He refuses to offer bipartisan support on all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander social and justice issues," she wrote on Instagram.
"What else can you expect from a man like him?"
Pat Anderson, who was a key figure in
, described Dutton's comments as an "inflammatory political move".
"It’s deeply disappointing and disturbing that some people have extended the 'no' to all things recognising, and more importantly celebrating, First Nations Peoples, histories and cultures," she said in a statement overnight, according to The Guardian.
Education Minister Jason Clare labelled them "a distraction" after two senior Liberal politicians — Senator Simon Birmingham and Paul Fletcher — announced they would not run at the next federal election set to be held sometime in the next five months.
And Albanese said Dutton was "looking for division" and said it "costs nothing to show respect".
"It’s up to Mr Dutton to explain why he has chosen to attempt to make this an issue," he said.
Peter Dutton delivers press conferences in front of an Australian flag and does not typically feature Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags. Source: AAP / Joel Carrett
In an interview with Melbourne radio station 3AW on Tuesday, Dutton reiterated that while he believes Indigenous history and flags should be respected, Australia has only one national flag.
"I think if you look at comparable countries, democracies around the world, I can’t think of one country that a leader stands behind three separate flags, and more importantly, I just don’t think that we can be a united nation and a unified nation without the thought of standing behind anything other than one flag," he said.
"If we're split into different groupings or different tribes, we’re not going to be the unified country that I think we need to be."
Does Australia have multiple official flags?
The Australian national flag, which depicts the Southern Cross and Union Jack on a blue backdrop, was selected in 1901.
In 1995, the Flags Act was amended, and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags were granted official status under the Paul Keating government.
But they are not designated national flags.
Ralph Bartlett, secretary and co-founder of the Flags Society of Australia, describes them as "flags of national significance".
"We have only one national flag ... but what we also have are officially recognised flags of national significance, and that is what the Aboriginal Torres Strait Islander flags are," he said.
"They're under the Flag Act as a national emblem for our Indigenous communities, so they're not the national flag, but they're nationally recognised to represent these significant Indigenous communities of Australia."
While it is the Albanese government's policy to fly the three flags together, it is not a legal requirement.
The Albanese government's policy to display the three flags together is not a legal requirement. Credit: AAP
Tim Rowse, an emeritus professor at the Western Sydney University and an Australian history expert, said each prime minister can decide whether or not they want to stand in front of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags.
"[Peter Dutton] is making a kind of identity statement; he's saying he's not going to stand in front of three flags, but just the one, so he's making a kind of symbolic statement that he recognises Australia as an undivided nation," Rowse said.
"It's implying that Albanese, in respecting the two Indigenous flags, is respecting the concept of a divided sovereignty; I think that would be the way Dutton wants to be understood."
Rowse said this belief builds on the failed Voice to Parliament referendum.
"And one of the arguments against the Voice was that it would divide Australia along what some people called racial lines, or other people just said along Indigenous, non-Indigenous lines."
Australia also has official ensigns for the Australian Defence Force and government services.
Do other countries have multiple flags?
While some other countries, such as New Zealand, do have flags that represent their Indigenous peoples, they are not typically displayed in government press conferences or announcements in the same way as they are in Australia.
But there are other countries that display multiple flags.
Bolivia has two flags: the traditional national flag which features red, yellow and green horizontal stripes, and the Wiphala flag which is composed of a square patchwork of seven colours displayed diagonally.
The Wiphala flag represents Bolivia's Indigenous peoples. Source: AAP / EPA
"If you were to look up Bolivia's national flag, you'll see both the traditional flag, which they've had since independence in the 1820s and the more very brightly coloured, multicoloured checkered square flag, which represents the Indigenous population of Bolivia," Rowse said.
"And that was officially declared as a co-national flag, which is not the case here in Australia, and the two flags must be flown together."
Members of the European Union also regularly display the EU flag alongside their national flag.
Uruguay has three co-official flags: the National Pavillion, the Flag of Artigas, and the Flag of the Treinta y Tres, which each represent different stages in the country's formation.
