He was punished because he had burned a particularly large Australian flag in a public park, which was cited as causing ‘concern, fright, and anger’ to onlookers. Kinbacher and Anor is one of the most well-known cases in recent history, where Patrick Coleman poured petrol on a flag and set it on fire on Australia Day. Famous Cases Of Flag Burning In Australia If it does, it can qualify as disorderly conduct, which is punishable by imprisonment. For flag burning to be legal, it should be done safely and not cause fear or harm to others. Flag burning still has to comply with other Australian laws. That doesn’t mean you can’t get in trouble when you burn a flag in Australia.
The most recent bill was introduced in 2016 by the National Party’s George Christensen, but this bill didn’t pass and become a law. In 2003, Colin Barnett pushed for a Flag Protection bill that would fine offenders $AUD6000 for flag desecration ‘ intended to cause offence to any person or persons'. Since then, there have been several calls for flag protection laws, seeking to fine or imprison people. The Flags Acts of 1953, which defines the protocol around the Australian flag, was debated upon even before it became a law, as the Labor Party’s Arthur Calwell pointed out that American law punishes defacing their flag. Several public officers have tried to change this and introduce an act to make it a crime. There are no specific Australian flag laws that punish the burning of the flag. What Offense Does Flag Burning Constitute In Australia? Generally, even if a country doesn’t have a specific law against flag burning, it can arrest and charge offenders if the burning poses a danger to citizens or destruction of property. But because of how a flag is burned, it can still be punished under Australian law. Australia, like Belgium and Sweden, is much laxer and doesn’t have a law that specifically bans flag burning. In New Zealand, the Flags, Emblems and Names Protection Act of 1981 makes it a crime to destroy the New Zealand flag – but only if you did it with the intent of dishonouring the flag.