A New Flag For An Independent Nation

A Mackay resident has designed and created a potential alternative to the current Australian flag that she says encompasses all current flags.

Valerie Christiansen says she got her creative genes from her father who designed, planned and built houses.

“He was very good at designing plans, he sat in his office forever designing plans and building houses,” she said.

“I think I got the talent from him to design.”

When the discussion of a new Australian flag was raised, Valerie decided to put her skills to the test.

“I knew I had the talent to do it,” she said.

“To me it’s been like a duty to do it.

“An idea came to my head just to do the horizontal lines and all the colours.”

The flag features the red, black and yellow of the Aboriginal flag, the green, blue and white of the Torres Strait Islander flag, the red, white and blue of the current Australian flag and the iconic Australian green and gold.

The Southern Cross and Commonwealth Star remain in Valerie’s design while the Union Jack has been omitted.

“I feel it’s really good because it encompasses all the colours,” she said.

“I think we’re reaching independence soon … we need a flag that’s uniting all of the flags.

“I knew at the end it was right, you know when something’s right.”

Valerie took advice on the design from her friends, with a friend also assisting with the sewing.

“It was a team effort, the way it’s ended up,” she said.

She said now that she’s happy with the final product, she’s eager to see what the community thinks of her design.

“It’s not an easy thing to do because you’ve got to make something that everybody’s going to like,” she said.

“It’s just a proposed one and if it’s popular it's popular and if it isn’t it isn’t.”

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Valerie Christiansen has designed a potential alternative to the Australian flag

Valerie’s flag