NSW Government backflips on $25 million flagpole for Aboriginal flag on Sydney Harbour Bridge

The NSW government has backflipped on plans to slug taxpayers for a new flag on the Harbour Bridge, instead replacing the state flag with the Aboriginal flag. Here’s how the spare $25m will now be spent.

The Aboriginal flag will replace the NSW flag and permanently feature atop the Harbour Bridge after the state government buckled to public pressure.

The flag was placed on the iconic site for NAIDOC week and will remain there permanently while the state flag will be moved to Macquarie Street – the home of Premier Dominic Perrottet’s pet project, the precinct’s redevelopment.

Mr Perrottet had vowed to put the flag on top of the bridge last month, but his plans were halted when advisers returned with an estimated bill of $25m.

At the time, he said the cost was “a small price to pay” to unify the community but on Sunday night, Mr Perrottet said the money will now be used to fund Close the Gap initiatives for Indigenous Australians.

“I will allocate the $25m to close the gap initiatives and I’m going to fly the NSW flag as part of the redevelopment of Macquarie Street … The parliament is there, the Mint is there, the Barracks are there,” he told The Daily Telegraph.

The Aboriginal flag has been flying beside the Australian flag on top of the Harbour Bridge on for NAIDOC week. Picture: Damian Shaw

“What we’ve learnt though the whole (process) is a lot of people across the state don’t appreciate the NSW flag or the state’s history and that is because they see themselves as Australians first and not as their state … It’s a great opportunity to put the flag in the historic precinct as an important part of modern Australia.”

To put the Aboriginal flag in addition to the NSW and Australian flags, three new six-storey flag poles would have to be created, adding up to the mammoth cost.

The NSW state flag will now reside permanently in Macquarie Street. Picture: Lisa Maree Williams/Getty Images

The original plan would also mean it would have taken two years before the flag could fly over the harbour.

“Our Indigenous history should be celebrated and acknowledged so young Australians understand the rich and enduring culture that we have here with our past,” Mr Perrottet said when he first made the commitment in June.

“Installing the Aboriginal flag permanently on the Sydney Harbour Bridge will do just that and is a continuation of the healing process as part of the broader move towards reconciliation.

Following Mr Perrottet’s commitment, the Victorian government also recently made the decision to permanently fly the Aboriginal flag on Melbourne’s West Gate.