In a devastating blow to the republican push for shredding the flag, the latest research from the established respected pollster, the Morgan poll, reveals there is overwhelming support among all age groups for keeping the Australian Flag.
Taken just after the ANZAC Day debate, it revealed that support among the youngest age group, 14 to 17, support is at 80%, with 7% undecided.
The attack on the Australian Flag on ANZAC day outraged many Australians.
According to the Morgan Poll, support for the Australian Flag across all ages is at 69%, with 5% undecided.
But in the Great Flag Debate broadcast across the Channel 9 national network on 30 January, the prominent republican campaigner against the Flag, Peter FitzSimons claimed that about 50% of Australians want to change the flag.
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No age group and neither sex comes even close to 50% support for shredding the Australian Flag.
According to Gary Morgan of Morgan Polls:
“The latest Morgan Poll on the Australian Flag shows a clear majority of Australians (66%, up 22% since February 1998) want to retain the current Australian Flag and an even stronger majority (69%, up 16%) want to retain the Union Jack as part of the Australian Flag.“Despite recent unwarranted calls for a new Australian Flag, the Morgan Poll shows that the clear preference of Australians is to stick with the current design that was first flown on September 3, 1901 in Melbourne over the Australian Parliament and has so well represented our nation for over 100 years since.”
…Australia Day stunts
We have come to expect republican stunts on Australia Day but for the first time last year they even chose to defile ANZAC Day.
In a democracy the republicans are of course entitled to campaign against the Australian Flag and the Australian Constitution, butthere is a time and a place, and a proper process.It is wrong to try to divide the nation on Australia Day and ANZAC Day.
Further they should go away and come back with their preferred alternative- not a collection of beach towels – and put it to the powers that be.
The Keating government planned to impose a new flag on the nation before the Centenary of Federation. But then the Flag Act was amended to require the question be decided not by the politicians but by the people.
Although the republican flag changers were outraged that the question should be decided democratically – which tells you a lot about the republican model they have up their sleeves – few politicians would dare try to circumvent that.