Logo Objection Letter, Australia First Party
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Eureka’s Children www. eurekaschildren.org.au First Assistant Commissioner, details redacted East Malvern deta ls redacte Funding and Disclosure details redacted Australian Electoral Commission Locked bag 4007 Canberra ACT 2601 [email protected] May 15, 2016 RE: Objection to Application by Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated to register a logo which is a representation of the Eureka Flag On behalf of Eureka’s Children I am lodging this objection to the application for use of a representation of the Eureka Flag as a party political logo for the Australia First Party (NSW) Incorporated. We are submitting this written objection before the closing date of May 22 and are relying on Section 129A of the Electoral Act 1918, which provides the AEC with a power to refuse to enter a logo of the party in the Register under section 129A. We seek refusal under those grounds not only for the confusion which would occur in the public mind about our organisation, but also the confusion in public appreciation of the Eureka Story, which is the basis of our activities and that of many organisations. Use of such a logo by the applicant for the party political purposes intended would, it is contended, demonstrate a lack of respect for the solemn nature of the Eureka events, for the miners, their supporters and soldiers who died or were injured at Eureka in 1854. We seek to protect this magnificent Australian story of Eureka and its inherent egalitarianism, inclusiveness, sense of identity, multiculturalism and commitment to democratic principles from potential inappropriate exploitation by any political party, from the inevitable public confusion that it would foster. What is Eureka’s Children? Before turning to the substance of our objections it may be helpful to outline some information about our Association. Eureka's Children is a not-for-profit association incorporated under Victorian Law in 1998. It is a membership organisation for descendants of those involved in the events surrounding the Eureka Stockade battle on December 3rd 1854. Membership also includes those people who support the Eureka story and its ideals of Democracy. Eureka’s Children operates in an open and non-partisan manner in promoting a stronger Australian democratic society. It seeks not only to commemorate our ancestors participation 1 in, and the events of, Eureka but also to encourage a broader discussion about the values inherent in the goldfields community's quest for representation and basic freedoms and the role that these democratic ideals and values have in our contemporary Australian society. Eureka's Children makes representation to all levels of government and other organizations; promoting the story of Eureka, the Museums of Australian Democracy at Eureka (MADE) and in Canberra, as well as promoting Eureka's Children various activities and objectives. The Association is active in commemorating the events that took place on the Ballarat goldfields in 1854. It has been represented on the Eureka Commemorative Planning Committee established by the Ballarat City Council for many years and liaises with other goldfields commemoration committees in central Victoria. The Association was incorporated in 1998. Our Web Site is at www.eurekaschildren.org.au and we publish a quarterly newsletter 'Liberty!' which includes articles of special significance regarding the Eureka story, issues concerning our democracy, Eureka events and commemorations and other matters of general interest. The newsletter can be downloaded from our website. Each year on 3 December, the Anniversary of the storming of the Eureka Stockade, Eureka’s Children presents the Eureka Democracy Award to a worthy individual or organisation to recognise outstanding endeavours that contribute to protecting and strengthening democratic traditions in Australia. In December 2015, at a dinner in Canberra to celebrate the anniversary of events surrounding Eureka, hosted by our Canberra Chapter Chairman, ANU Emeritus Professor John Molony, I was honoured as President of Eureka’s Children to present Father Frank Brennan SJ AO with the 2015 National Eureka Democracy Award following Fr, Brennan’s delivery of the Eureka Annual Address. The 2015 Award recognised the outstanding and tireless work of Frank Brennan to bring to the attention of main stream Australia injustices suffered by a range of minority groups, especially indigenous Australians, those abused by officials of the Church, gay people, and refugees and to agitate for change that would see these minority groups treated in the same manner as all Australians. Eureka’s Children played an important role in the redevelopment of the Museum of Australian Democracy at Eureka (MADE), which opened on the Eureka Reserve in Ballarat in 2013. MADE tells the stories of the development of democratic traditions internationally from the Athenians through history to the present day in an innovative and engaging way. The contribution of the Eureka events to the development of Australian Democracy and its impacts which continue on today are highlighted. Eureka’s Children, through submissions provided through our senior history academics (within and beyond the membership) and subsequent influencing activities by our committee, was a major contributor over more than six years to the theme and narrative to that which is now presented. Eureka’s Children has strong working relationships with MADE. Substance of our Objections: Clause 129A of the Electoral Act provides that: Certain party logos (are) not to be entered in the Register. The Electoral Commission may refuse to enter in the Register a logo of a political party (the applicant), set out in an application to register the applicant, if, in its opinion, the applicant’s logo: (a) is obscene; or (b) is the logo of any other person; or (c) so nearly resembles the logo of any other person that it is likely to be 2 confused with or mistaken for that logo; or (d) is one that a reasonable person would think suggests that a connection or relationship exist between the applicant and a registered political party if that connection or relationship does not in fact exist;.. The Eureka flag and its representation as proposed by the applicant is used by our association to identify our organisation. It commemorates the 32 persons who died under the flag in the pursuit of justice and freedom from oppression, objectives expressed succinctly by Peter Lalor in the oath of allegiance set out below which was taken at Bakery Hill, Ballarat on November 30, 1854 at the monster meeting of miners after a reported further inflammatory license hunt by Police. “We swear by the Southern Cross to stand truly by each other and fight to defend our rights and liberties.” The Flag was designed and produced by our ancestors who fought and many died or were injured under it. It has now returned to the Stockade precinct within MADE. With the Ballarat Reform League Charter, which is registered since 2004 on the UNESCO Australian Memory of the World Register, it is the key symbol of the Eureka events and of major significance to us as an Association of direct descendants. A photograph of the launch of the Miners Walk in the grounds of MADE, jointly by MADE and Eureka’s Children at the opening of MADE in 2013, which commemorates the miners who died at Eureka is attached in Annex 1. It shows the commemorative plaque containing the names of those killed and the stylised representation of the Flag symbol at the base. A similar commemorative record is placed within the MADE in the Flag Room. A representation of the Eureka Flag is used (and has been for more than 12 years) in much of our materials including our letterhead, our Liberty Newsletter - which is published quarterly and is available for download from our website (See below) and memorabilia and identifiers such as lapel flag pins for members. Our promotional banners carry a representation of the flag and we conduct annual public marches from Bakery Hill to the Stockade site in Ballarat with the Flag leading this march. The January 2016 edition of our Liberty Newsletter is attached in Annex 2, and shows the use of the stylised Eureka flag logo at the head of each page. We submit that the logo proposed to be registered by Australia First: is in fact our logo (that of another legal person) and also so nearly resembles our logo that is likely to be confused with or mistaken for that logo As a further strand of objection linked to the “confusion provisions” of 129A, we wish to highlight the inappropriate nature of linkage of any political party to our symbolised use of the Eureka Flag. We have a direct connection to the Flag as descendants of those who raised that flag. We strive to make it as clear as possible that while the Flag belongs to all Australians our organisation eschews any attribution to representation of political parties (of the left or right). We cannot hope to ‘undo’ the appropriation of the flag in the past by various organisations, but we want to avoid a political party appropriating the flag symbol. Eureka needs (and deserves) to be promoted as story for all Australians to encourage broader interest and involvement in its story and legacy not as an event to be used (or linked) to promote party political platforms of the left or right. 3 It has been reported that the Australia First Party’s platform includes the abolition of government support for multiculturalism in Australia. Many people and organisations, including Eureka’s Children, may regard this as repugnant, given that Eureka was very much a multicultural set of events with miners born in many nations rallying to defend their lives. However, we acknowledge that this is not a reason in itself to advocate that AF not be heard on that matter.