Canberra, July 11: After a five year campaign, the Aboriginal flag will now fly permanently on one of Australia’s most iconic landmarks.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, the New South Wales (NSW) state government on Sunday abandoned plans to install a third flagpole on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, with the Aboriginal flag to instead permanently replace the NSW colours atop the iconic landmark.
The bridge usually shows both the Australian and NSW flags though the former was usually flown in place of the state flag on some days throughout the year.
Earlier, the government had announced that it would add the Aboriginal flag and a new pole to the bridge.
This would have taken up two years and cost A$ 25 million.
NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet said that the initial plan would be spent on the initiatives to reduce disadvantage among Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people.
Komilaroi woman Cheree Toka, who had campaigned for the change for 5 years, had started a petition amassing over 170,000 signatures.
Last week, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews had announced that the Aboriginal flag would be placed permanently atop Melbourne’s West Gate Bridge replacing the state flag.
