Last modified: 2005-05-28 by jonathan dixon
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![[Ausflag proposal, 1993]](../images/a/au-ausf1.gif)
This is promoted by Ausflag, a nonprofit body seeking to engender public support for a new Australian flag. Recent opinion polls show only 35% support for a new flag, but the numbers are growing, and more ominously, there is 45% support for a change in the 25-39 age group.
Ausflag ran a design competition for a new Australian flag in conjunction with The Australian newspaper in late 1993, with the winning design (above) announced on 17 December 1993. The competition had a total prize pool of A$25,000, with A$15,000 going to the winner, Mark Tucker, a graphic designer from Sydney.
The red arc at the bottom represents Uluru (formerly known as Ayers Rock, a huge monolith in the centre of Australia), and the blue above represents our clear, wide skies. Retention of the Southern Cross was seen as crucial, as it has been incorporated into many symbols of Australia and the fact that it is extremely popular with the public.
Using red, white and blue provides continuity with our existing flag and is still symbolic of our British history without the need to replicate the British flag in its entirety as part of the design.
The copyright of this design is vested in Ausflag.
Brendan Jones
Ausflag is a voluntary, apolitical, non-profit organisation seeking to promote high-quality debate about Australia's national symbols. It was established in 1981 by Harold Scruby and other interested Australians with the objective of securing the popular support of the Australian people for the adoption of a truly Australian flag: "A flag which clearly and unequivocally proclaims our identity to other nations, a flag which is internationally recognisable and not confusing to other nations, and a flag which unites the Australian nation in all its diversity."
Ausflag is not and has never been anti-British. It is, simply, pro-Australian.
Since its inception, Ausflag has regularly promoted alternative designs for a new Australian flag, held public flag design competitions with significant reward, and otherwise promoted debate about Australia's national flag through the media and public forums.
The Ausflag site contains an unparalleled wealth of detailed, accurate, and referenced information about Australian flags. The site is divided into four main sections: