The red Australian flag being flown at the protests in Canberra (Image: Supplied)

Among the flags flown by anti-vaccine, anti-government activists during last week’s protests in Canberra, a red version of the Australian flag — officially known as the Australian Red Ensign — stands out as a popular but strange choice. 

How did a flag that’s supposed to be used solely by Australia’s mercantile navy be adopted by a movement opposing COVID-19 health restrictions fuelled by fringe and conspiratorial beliefs?

Well, it’s complicated.

The red ensign was the winning entry in the new Australian Commonwealth government’s 1901 flag competition. In the early days of the nation, it was popular and the blue ensign was restricted to official government use by flag suppliers. Towards the middle of the century, the use of the blue ensign was expanded until it was made the official national flag in the Flags Act 1953.

The red ensign remains an official Australian flag flown at sea by merchant ships.

For years, it has been the flag of choice for the Australian sovereign citizen movement, a loosely aligned group that falsely claims the nation’s legal system is illegitimate. Adherents also often fly the flag upside down to signal that the nation is in distress.

University of South Australia senior lecturer Joe McIntyre has studied the sovereign citizenship movement in Australia and speculates in The Conversation on reasons that may have led the movement to adopting the flag, including:

  • The flag was used by Anzacs, a key part of Australian lore about fighting against tyranny, and more commonly used in the early days of the nation
  • The red ensign’s continued association with maritime activities makes it attractive to sovereign citizens whose arguments often cite “admiralty law”
  • A suggestion that it draws inspiration from the Canadian red ensign which is used by its far right.

The red ensign became a common sight during the pandemic’s anti-vaccine, anti-government protests. Its presence is a symptom of the cross-pollination of sovereign citizen ideas through the so-called freedom movements — which also began incorporating tactics like pseudo-legal proclamations or letters, none of which have been successful.

Like many other symbols of the movement, the history that believers lay claim to is often misinterpreted or completely fabricated. As far back as World War I, the Anzacs were vaccinated. Flying a flag upside down as a sign of distress is an American idea, and the Australian government says the flag should never be flown upside down even during an emergency. The harkening back to admiralty law to overrule modern state law is absurd and baseless.

Last year the Returned & Services League of Australia (RSL) condemned the use of the red ensign by anti-vaccine, anti-lockdown protesters, calling it a “dishonour to Australian service men and women who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation”. 

Rather than being a sign of righteous rebellion, the use of the red Australian ensign flag by anti-vaccine, anti-government protests has instead become a symbol of their dishonesty and disrespect for the sacrifices made by others.