Peter Dutton has vowed to only stand before the national flag if he is elected prime minister at next year’s federal election.
On Monday night, the federal opposition leader – who has historically only stood in front of the national flag during press conferences – said flying the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander flags alongside the Australian flag is “dividing our country unnecessarily”.
“We’re asking people to identify with different flags, no other country does that, and we are dividing our country unnecessarily,” he told Peta Credlin on Sky News.
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“We should have respect for the Indigenous flag and the Torres Strait Islander flag, but they are not our national flags.”
Dutton then accused Prime Minister Anthony Albanese of sending “a very confusing message” around Australia Day.
“I think the fact is that we should stand up for who we are, for our values, what we believe in,” Dutton said.
“We are united as a country when we gather under one flag, which is what we should do on Australia Day.
“We should also speak a lot more about our migrant story, the incredible story of people who came here, particularly in the post-WWII period, with nothing, and have worked hard as tradies, as farmers, and they’ve educated their children,” he said.
“The next generation has done incredibly well. They’ve done well themselves. We’re a great country today because of that. We don’t talk anything of that part of our history and so that’s a view that I’ve taken.”