Government accepts recommendation kangaroos be ditched from Australia’s branding
The Federal Government has reportedly accepted a recommendation to ditch the kangaroo from our brand, to be replaced with something ‘not immediately recognisable’.
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A LITTLE-known government advisory panel which comprises some of the brightest business minds in Australia has made a shock recommendation that our nation ditch the kangaroo from its national branding.
What’s more, the decision has already been made, with the Federal Government accepting all the recommendations of Australia’s Nation Brand Advisory Council’s recommendation, including replacing the kangaroo with wattle.
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“We love our kangaroo – it is currently the most internationally recognised shortcut to Australia,” the council said in its report.
“But we considered whether it would shift perceptions of our nation, or simply reinforce what people already knew about us.”
The council said the reason the kangaroo should be ditched is precisely because there are too many kangaroos out there.
The council is chaired by mining magnate Andrew ‘Twiggy’ Forrest and includes such eminent Australians as Atalassian founder Mike Cannon-Brookes, Australia Post chief executive Christine Holgate and Qantas chief executive Alan Joyce, who is, of course, Irish-Australian.
“To adopt a kangaroo as our national symbol would require agreement on a new single ‘roo’ (by all agencies currently using kangaroos) as dual-branding situations of multiple kangaroos sitting side-by-side will not work,” the council said.
The wattle which would replace the kangaroo resembles a golden dandelion with the letters ‘AU’ in big block letters in the middle.
“The Council’s preference for the Nation Brand mark was the wattle – it’s our national flower and while not immediately recognisable internationally, it will become so over time,” the council said.
“Our proposed Nation Brand mark balances a literal and abstract interpretation of a wattle flower. It’s an optimistic burst of gold positivity.
“The letters AU have been chosen as a visual shortcut that immediately communicates ‘Australia’. It’s our internationally recognised two-digit ISO country code, and .au is the internet top-level domain for Australia, which plays into our digital future.
“The AU is also the periodic table element code for gold, which provides a connection to Australia’s scientific endeavours and our mineral rich past and future.”
Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said the new ‘Nation Brand mark’ and other changes including changing our national slogan from ‘Australia Unlimited’ to ‘Only in Australia’, encapsulate all that is good and outward-looking about contemporary Australians.
“Whether in the promotion of our goods, our skilled services or our amazing experiences, the integration of our new nation brand will be a key part of our future strategy,” he said.
“Australia’s irrepressive sense of optimism drives everything we do. We’re down to earth. We’re friendly. We’re optimistic. We’re clever and dynamic.
“Too often, we undersell ourselves but we are the 13th largest economy in the world despite only being the 55th most populous.”
The new proposed Nation Brand mark would be used by government and public bodies and not businesses such as Qantas.
The report was prepared for Trade Minister Simon Birmingham in December 2019 by the council, a body formed under the Turnbull Government some two years ago.