The current Australian flag signifies the very worst and vilest aspects of our culture – its dependence on England, its history of racism, sexism and homophobia, and its refusal to acknowledge the original owners of our land, the Indigenous Australians. For these reasons, it must be altered without delay.

Firstly, by anchoring itself with the divisive British symbol of the Union Jack, the current Australian flag does not accurately represent Australia as an independent nation. Very few of us have even travelled to Britain and fewer still believe it is our mother country; so why is its conquering symbol displayed so prominently on our flag? We no longer depend on England for our judicial system, our defense forces and our rule of law, and many other aspects of our nation. Why, then, should we parade this symbol of subservience on our government buildings and wave it every time our athletes win an Olympic medal? We are not slaves, chained to the hand of our slave master, so why should we be branded as such? And, conversely, those who argue that the Australian flag is a sacred element of our nation under which Australians fought and died are fundamentally incorrect; most Australian soldiers fought under the British flag, thus dispelling the age-old argument.

When the current Australian flag was devised in 1901, racism, sexism and homophobia were a widespread and accepted part of society. Australian Indigenous people and women were not granted right of suffrage, and mixed race children were torn, sobbing, from their parents. We called these the Stolen Generation. Homosexuality was punishable by life imprisonment, and women, as well as non-whites, were considered inferior beings. Indeed, the only people this flag represented and continues to represent are white, land-owning, heterosexual males, a faction that comprises just 18% of