‘Torn flag’ debate takes a turn as Lidia Thorpe celebrates her ragged state waving over Parliament: ‘Appropriate’
- Parliament House in Canberra flies a huge Australian flag at the top
- Flag usually changed every month but stayed one week too long
- Now very frayed around the edge and looking like a tatty mess
- Lidia Thorpe used it to attack Australia’s colonial history
Controversial Senator Lidia Thorpe has used the torn state of the House of Parliament flag to scrutinize Australia’s history.
Coalition MPs complained this week about the ‘gaping hole’ in the giant Australian flag and casual observation reveals that the fabric is fraying badly at the edge.
Senator Thorpe, a frequent critic of Australia’s system of government, which she sees as a colonial tomcat hostile to Indigenous people, referred to The Queens as “Her Majesty’s colonizing” when she took her oath of office last year.
“Isn’t it appropriate that the colonial flag has a gaping hole?” she wrote on Twitter on Wednesday afternoon.
The giant Australian flag flying atop Parliament House is a tattered mess after wild weather prevented it from being changed
Shadow Immigration Minister Dan Tehan complained about the state of the flag on Wednesday and demanded Prime Minister Anthony Albanese fix it.
“Parliament today sits under a flag waving above the parliament building with a gaping hole in it,” he said.
“I hope Prime Minister Anthony Albanese can fix this…we should be proud of our institutions, we should be proud of our parliament and we should be proud of our flag.”
Albanian is on a plane to India for a three-day business and security trip with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but President Milton Dick and Senate President Sue Lines vowed to resolve the flag issue.
“The national significance and importance of the Australian flag cannot be overemphasized,” they said.
“We are aware of the unacceptable state of the current Australian flag flying over Parliament House.”
Their joint statement explained that the flag is usually changed every first Wednesday of the month from a rotating flag shed.
However, strong winds and thunderstorms prevented the flag from being changed last week, as usual, and suffered from the elements.
“Changing the flag is a dangerous and complex undertaking due to the sheer size of the flag and the high winds at that altitude,” they explained.
‘Weather conditions must be favorable to allow for a safe changeover. The recent weather conditions posed an unacceptable risk to the safety of personnel replacing the current flag.
High winds and thunderstorms prevented the flag change as usual last week and suffered from the elements
“When the staff had a chance to safely climb the pole, the lift mechanism experienced a mechanical failure.”
The pair said the elevator was undergoing urgent maintenance and the flag would be changed as soon as possible.
Mr. Tehan’s response seemed to lack understanding of the security issues.
“I hope their long list of excuses for the poor state of the current flag won’t delay this. Let’s also hope we don’t experience this again,” he said.
Parliament House’s massive flagpole is 81 meters long and the flag itself measures 6.4 meters by 12 meters – taller than a double-decker bus tilted on its side.