Tom Minear: Why the Aboriginal flag matters to us all
This weekend the AFL will celebrate its annual Indigenous round but the Aboriginal flag won’t be painted in the centre circle, and it won’t appear on players’ jumpers. The league has been ensnared in a bizarre copyright fight that exposes a shocking truth, writes Tom Minear.
Opinion
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What do you remember about the night Cathy Freeman won Olympic gold?
I remember her revealing that futuristic bodysuit as she waited on the blocks. I remember the way she burst onto the straight. I remember her sitting on the track and shaking her head afterwards — years later, she said it was because she was disappointed with her time.
Most of all, I remember her lap of honour, draped in the Aboriginal and Australian flags. It was such a powerful moment for a country that had long struggled with its Indigenous identity.
This weekend, 20 years since that fateful night in Sydney, the AFL will celebrate its annual Indigenous round. But the Aboriginal flag won’t be painted in the centre circle, and it won’t appear on players’ jumpers. That’s because the league has been ensnared in a bizarre copyright fight.
The dispute has exposed a truth that has shocked many Australians this week: the Aboriginal and Australian flags are treated differently, and only one truly belongs to the people.
The Australian flag can be easily used for commercial purposes,
as long as it is “reproduced completely and accurately” and “used in a dignified manner”.
But the Aboriginal flag can only be used with the permission of Northern Territory artist Harold Thomas, who came up with the black, yellow and red design first raised in 1971.
In 1995, the Governor-General declared it was the Australian Aboriginal flag. That proclamation, while important, did not give it the same legal standing as the Australian flag. Instead, it prompted a Federal Court battle over the flag’s authorship, which Thomas won in 1997. As is his right, Thomas has since granted licences for the flag to several companies.
One is WAM Clothing. Its owners include Ben Wooster, the director of Birubi Art, which was found to have made false or misleading representations about its Aboriginal art in 2018. It had sold 18,000 boomerangs, didgeridoos and other products – all of which were made in Indonesia. Sadly, that did not affect WAM Clothing’s grip on the Aboriginal flag.
Last year, WAM Clothing issued a series of “cease and desist” notices, including to the AFL.
A group called Clothing The Gap was also targeted, prompting them to launch their “Free The Flag” campaign. With the help of another Olympian and former senator, Nova Peris, that has brought the issue firmly into focus.
“We the people have made that flag and elevated it to its status today,” she said.
“We want equal rights to our flag like other Australians have equal rights to their flag.”
This should be an uncontroversial position, but as the AFL has found, the flag is still in legal jeopardy. It’s time for that to be resolved.
Labor’s Linda Burney, Opposition spokeswoman for Indigenous Australians, says the “untenable” situation must be fixed by the federal government.
Minister for Indigenous Australians Ken Wyatt says the government does not want to buy the flag. He wants a resolution that respects Thomas’ rights and ensures its symbolic status.
It is a difficult balancing act. Some federal figures are rightly uncomfortable at the thought of the commonwealth being seen to swoop in and take ownership of the flag from Thomas. But that concern should be outweighed by a desire to prevent a repeat of the ridiculous situation now facing the AFL and other organisations.
The current arrangement is not working for Aboriginal people or Australia as a whole.
Wyatt met Thomas last year, saying he wanted to work with him to protect the flag’s integrity. It seems little has happened since, partly because the copyright issue falls in the portfolio of Communications Minister Paul Fletcher.
Scott Morrison’s raison d’être is solving problems. This one should be high on his list.
Perhaps the flag’s copyright could be transferred to an Indigenous organisation such as the Coalition of Peaks.
Others suggest there is a more straightforward option — under the Flags Act, the Governor-General can make “rules for the guidance of persons in connection with the flying or use of flags”.
Finding a solution will take some work, which must happen in concert with Aboriginal leaders.
If the government is slow to act, the AFL should consider using its influence to force the issue. Collingwood players have already taken it upon themselves to wear “Free The Flag” T-shirts.
COVID-19 has meant another change to Indigenous round, with the annual Dreamtime clash between Essendon and Richmond to be played in Darwin for the first time. Essendon legend Michael Long wants all fans to bring along an Aboriginal flag to wave in the stands.
“The AFL supported the Black Lives Matter games and I think this is just as important,” Long said.
“I think it’s time we stood up for what is right.”
Long’s idea would be a moving way to show the flag belongs to the people. And it should compel the nation’s leaders to make sure of that, once and for all.
Tom Minear is Herald Sun political editor