Australian union's flag change proposal triggers misleading online claims

"This is a TAKEOVER. Labor are killing Australia's identity, rewriting history and destroying our sacred institutions," says an X user in a July 21, 2026 post.

"Just when you can't hate Labor and their criminal unions mates enough, they insult our flag and plan to change it," they said, calling for support for the opposition One Nation party instead.

The X user shared a link to a Daily Mail story about how the Australian Manufacturing Workers' Union (AMWU) had issued a demand to change the Australian flag in its Union Blueprint for Action (archived here and here). It was released ahead of Labor's national conference beginning July 23 (archived link).

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Screenshot of misleading X post taken on July 22, 2026, with the orange X added by AFP

The furore over the flag emerged in the days leading up to the Labor Party's three-day national conference in Adelaide, during which state, federal and territory leaders and parliamentarians would gather with its supporters, which include unions (archived link).

AMWU represents tens of thousands of workers across various manufacturing sectors -- from food and engineering to automobiles -- and is largely regarded as a staunch ally of the centre-left Labor Party (archived here and here). 

It released a 32-page "blueprint for action" in early July which called for several reforms, which Guardian Australia said included "a new tax rate for the highest income earners, introducing wealth and inheritance taxes and extracting more revenue from gas companies" (archived here and here).

Page 26 of their manifesto also proposed to "abolish the symbols of oppression" to show solidarity with Australia's First Nations peoples.

"We need to strip away the constant reminders of the old ruling class and colonial empire. Symbols of oppression -- like the Union Jack on our flag and offensive colonial statues -- must be removed from public life," it reads.

While most news outlets reported that it was AMWU proposing the flag changes in its document, many social media users who were anti-Labor took it to mean that it was a foregone conclusion that Prime Minister Anthony Albanese was going to do it.

"He is now attempting to replace the Australian flag," says one post, while a conservative lobby group claimed on Facebook that "Labor is coming for our flag again".

But the circulating posts omit important context.

"The Government will not change the flag," the Prime Minister's Office told AFP on July 23 by email.

Additionally, while supporters of the Labor Party may propose reforms, they would need to be passed at the National Conference to be taken up by Labor's national platform. 

Changing the flag would also require a nationwide referendum, according to the 1953  Flags Act and its 1998 amendment (archived link).

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Screenshot of the Flags Act of 1953 taken on July 23, 2026

Long-running debate

The flag debate in Australia has largely centred on whether the Union Jack should be on it, a reminder of its British colonial past (archived link).

Those who support changing it, like the non-profit Ausflag, believe the country's flag should reflect Australia's independence from Britain(archived link). Groups that wish to preserve it -- such as the Australian National Flag Association -- say it "truly represents the sentiment of the Australian people" (archived link).

In 1992, then-prime minister Paul Keating -- who is part of the Labor Party -- made comments during visits to Indonesia and Papua New Guinea about changing the Australian flag (archived link).

"I'm sure that in this part of the world people do wonder about Australians representing themselves with a British Flag (the Union Jack) in the corner of our flag," Keating told a luncheon in Jakarta, according to a report by American news agency UPI. 

He later gave an assurance that the flag would not be changed without majority support from the people.

According to the Australian National Flag Association -- which defends the current design -- the prime minister after Keating, John Howard of the Liberal Party, then put forth an amendment to the 1953 Flags Act that it can "only be changed if the electorate approves an alternate design" (archived link).

"The legislation provides that the existing National Flag shall always be one of the choices offered at a national vote," said the statement. 

AFP has previously debunked misinformation surrounding flags in Australia.