Our Victorian state MP, Rikkie-Lee Tyrrell has moved the following motion in parliament –
That this House —
(1) notes that —
(a) the Australian national flag and the Victorian state flag are enduring symbols of the nation, representing Australian and Victorian history, values and unity;
(b) the deliberate desecration of the Australian and Victorian flags are not harmless acts of protest but a threatening act of aggression, a symbolic call to violence against Australia, its institutions and its people;
(c) 77 per cent of Australians polled by the Institute of Public Affairs believe that burning the Australian national flag should be against the law;
(d) 63 per cent of Australians polled by the Institute of Public Affairs believe that those who burn the Australian national flag should face jail time;
(e) 71 per cent of Australians polled by the Institute of Public Affairs believe that non-citizens who burn the Australian national flag should be deported; and
(2) calls on the Allan Labor Government to enact legislation to criminalise the desecration of the Australian national and Victorian state flags.