WHY ISNT THE ABORIGINAL FLAG FLOWN ON SYDNEY HARBOUR BRIDGE ALONG SIDE THE AUSTRALIAN FLAG AT ALL TIMES ?
January 26th 2013 marks the first Australia day that the Aboriginal flag & Australian flag was flown side by side on Sydney’s iconic Harbour Bridge. On that day Ms Bashir, then Governor of NSW, spoke about its importance and symbolic recognition of the Aboriginal people. “The reality is that Aboriginal people are the first Australians & that our Aboriginal culture is uniquely Australian” added Mr Dominello.
Currently it is only flown on rare occasion like the Reconciliation March in 2000 & on Australia Day since 2013. It is only just and proper that the national and international icon that is the gateway to the capital of the State of New South Wales, the Sydney Harbour Bridge, fly the Aboriginal flag. It will be seen as a highly visible mark of our respect for the Aboriginal people of NSW, their culture, heritage, and connection to their lands and waters.
WE BRING TO THE ATTENTION OF THE HOUSE that in 1983 the Aboriginal people of New South Wales have been recognised by the NSW Parliament as the original inhabitants of the lands of waters of New South Wales, and that they have been dispossessed of their lands without compensation.
In 2010, the New South Wales Parliament enacted an amendment to the New South Wales Constitution that recognised that Aboriginal people are the traditional custodians and occupants of the lands and waters of New South Wales who have an ongoing relationships with their traditional lands and “make an unique and continuing contribution to the identity of the State”.
THE UNDERSIGNED PETITIONERS therefore petition the members of the Legislative Assembly of the New South Wales Parliament to introduce and pass legislation to the effect that the flag of the Aboriginal people of Australia be permanently flown on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, excepting circumstances where both the Australian Flag and the Aboriginal flag are replaced by another flag or flags for approved purposes.
