‘Unifying flag’: senators back Dutton for no Indigenous flag display

Shadow home affairs minister James Paterson says it is important to have one national flag after Opposition Leader Peter Dutton said he would only address the nation in front of the Australian flag.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese set a new standard when he began addressing the nation in Canberra in front of three flags: the Australian, Indigenous and Torres Strait Islander flags.

Dutton told Sky News Australia should be “united under one flag”, to which Paterson agreed.

They held a joint press conference to denounce antisemitism on Monday with only Australian flags behind them.

Paterson was asked why Dutton would not stand in front of the Indigenous flag when it meant so much to Indigenous people.

“They have a very important place in Australia – they’re an important symbol for our country, but I think it’s important for any country to have one national [flag]. We need to have a unifying flag,” Paterson said on ABC News Breakfast. “I can’t think of any other country with multiple flags … We have different tribes, different flags, we follow different causes, we become divided.”

Paterson said the Coalition did not have a policy on the welcome to country, but it did not need to be done at every event. “I think some people find it a bit tiresome when we have five and six acknowledgments of country. Sometimes I think it’s overdone.”