Flying the flag should not

be a contentious issue...but apparently it is. 

It is claimed that this country has three national flags. There is the flag  this sports mad country competes under. Yes, that's the one with the Union Jack in the corner and the stars. There is also the "Aboriginal" flag which is red and black and yellow and the Torres Strait Islander flag.

The present government has been making a habit of standing in front of all three when making any and every announcement. That it is not the correct protocol does not seem to bother them at all.  

It is not correct because only one of those flags represents all Downunderites. The other flags should only be there if the matter being announced or under discussion is part of a conversation with that particular group. The aboriginal and islander flags do not represent all of us,

In my Guiding days we were taught how to fly the flag, how to raise it and lower it and how to fold it. It has been a very, very long time since I did it and I doubt I could remember all the correct procedure now but I do know that what we also managed to learn at the same time was respect for that flag. The other two flags did not even exist then. They did not come into official use until 1995 and even then they were considered controversial.

Yes, they are controversial. A national flag should represent all citizens of that country. The indigenous and islander flags represent a very tiny number of people and, while very important to those they represent, they do not belong to all of us.