The Premier has said that we will see a new flag flying atop of the Sydney Harbour Bridge as soon as possible.
New South Wales Premier Dominic Perrottet has declared a new flag will fly permanently alongside the Australian and NSW flags on top of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.
Fronting the media on Saturday, Mr Perrottet told reporters that a third flagpole with the Aboriginal flag will be permanently installed on the Sydney landmark. He said the government had been “working through this for some time” but the change would be made “as soon as possible”.
Currently, there are two flag poles on the Harbour Bridge with the Australian and New South Wales flags affixed to them. On nineteen days throughout the year, the Aboriginal flag takes the New South Wales flag’s place.
The Premier was first informed that the installation would take from six months to two years to complete, which he found extreme given the entire bridge took nine years to build.
“I’ll climb up there and put it up myself if I need to,” Mr Perrottet said.
He told The Sydney Morning Herald that he found it ridiculous that “we could build the Harbour Bridge in the 1920s, but apparently we can’t put a flagpole on the bridge in 2022”.
The decision is part of the government’s approach to better recognise Indigenous Australians in New South Wales. The initiative would also include Sydney’s Goat Island returning to Aboriginal ownership.
Mr Perrottet said: “We can’t truly be proud of our country unless we are working together to achieve true reconciliation. That’s a combination of both symbolic reconciliation and practical reconciliation.”
The government’s decision signals a victory for Komilaroi woman Cheree Toka who launched a campaign five years ago to ensure that the Aboriginal flag permanently flies on the bridge.
Ms Toka took to Twitter to celebrate: “A 5 year struggle worth while! WE BLOODY DID IT. Thank you to everyone who participated. The @The ChangeAus petition & @GoFundMe won’t stop until the flag is flying loud & proud. Let’s see it to the very end.”
