Aboriginal flag freely available for public use
In a historic decision, the Aboriginal flag has been made freely available for public use by all.
Following long negotiations, the artist behind the flag agreed to transfer copyright of the design to the Commonwealth.
Created by Luritja artist Harold Thomas in 1970, the flag represents Aboriginal people and their connection to the land, and has been an official national flag since the end of the late 1990s.
The copyright had remained with Mr Thomas since the flag’s genesis, meaning anyone who wanted to use the flag legally had to ask permission or pay a fee.
Indigenous Affairs Minister Ken Wyatt was pleased to announce that the flag now belongs to all Australians following the negotiations.
"Over the last 50 years we made Harold Thomas’ artwork our own — we marched under the Aboriginal Flag, stood behind it, and flew it high as a point of pride," Mr Wyatt said in a statement.
"Now that the Commonwealth holds the copyright, it belongs to everyone, and no-one can take it away."
Harold Thomas said he hopes all Australians will use the flag with the utmost pride and respect to the Indigenous Australian population.
"I hope that this arrangement provides comfort to all Aboriginal people and Australians to use the Flag, unaltered, proudly and without restriction," he said.
"I am grateful that my art is appreciated by so many, and that it has come to represent something so powerful to so many."
In return for the copyright, the government has agreed to establish an annual scholarship in Mr Thomas’s honour worth $100,000, which will see Indigenous students be given the chance to develop skills in leadership, and to create an online history and education portal for the flag.
Image credits: Getty Images