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Use | Civil and state flag ![]() ![]() ![]() |
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Proportion | 1:2 |
Adopted | 1993 |
Design | A vertical 1:2 bicolour of blue (charged with the Southern Cross) and gold (charged with a modified Coat of arms of the city of Canberra) |
Designed by | Ivo Ostyn |
The current flag of the Australian Capital Territory was officially adopted by the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly in 1993.
The flag differs from the Australian state flags as it is not a defaced Blue Ensign. It is similar in design to the flag of the Northern Territory. The flag uses the Canberra city colours of blue and gold (which also happen to be the heraldic colours of Australia). The Southern Cross appears as five white stars on a blue panel at the hoist, whilst in the centre of the goldfield in the fly is the modified Coat of arms of the city of Canberra. The flag was designed by Ivo Ostyn.
Even though the Australian Capital Territory has existed since 1909 and was given self-government in 1989, it had never had a flag of its own. In 1988 [2] and 1992 [3] community competitions for a proposed new flag were held, in which artists and residents of the ACT could put forth their designs for the new flag. The 1988 competition, undertaken by radio station 2CC, was won by then-Chisholm resident Ivo Ostyn with a representation of the then-recently erected flagpole of New Parliament House in green within a yellow circle on a green background. [2] The 1992 competition was undertaken by newspaper The Canberra Times.
In 1993, following a 1992 motion by Opposition leader Trevor Kaine, the ACT Government commenced a process to develop and select an ACT flag. [3] The ACT Government selected four options and surveyed the public between 19 February [4] and 5 March 1993 [5] to find the public's preference.
The Southern Cross and modified form of the coat of arms received 12,624 votes compared to a stylised Brindabella range which received 10,681 votes. A motion in the Legislative Assembly to declare the flag to be the flag of the ACT was resolved in the affirmative at midday, 25 March 1993. [4] The flag selected was designed by Ivo Ostyn, who had won the 1988 design competition and had been involved in the 1992–1993 process. In later years Ostyn spoke against his creation, indicating his preference for a simpler flag that did not bear the coat of arms. [6]
In 2020, the ACT Government commenced a process to develop a new coat of arms for the ACT. The development of a territory coat of arms will not automatically replace the coat of arms that appears on the current flag.
The Australian Capital Territory (ACT), known as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) until 1938, is a federal territory of Australia. Canberra, the capital city of Australia, is situated within the territory, and serves as the territory's primate city. It is located in southeastern Australian mainland as an enclave completely within the state of New South Wales. Founded after Federation as the seat of government for the new nation, the territory hosts the headquarters of all important institutions of the Australian Government.
The Red Ensign or "Red Duster" is the civil ensign of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is one of the British ensigns, and it is used either plain or defaced with either a badge or a charge, mostly in the right half.
The coat of arms of Canberra was granted to the City of Canberra by King George V in 1928, to be used by "the Federal Capital Commissioners and their successors". In 1989, a year after the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) gained self-government, the arms began to be used by newly formed ACT Government. A modified version of this coat of arms also appears on the flag of the Australian Capital Territory, adopted in 1993.
The flag of the Northern Territory was officially adopted in 1978. The Northern Territory has existed as a territory of Australia since 1911, but did not adopt its own flag until it was granted self-government in 1978.
The national flag of Antigua and Barbuda was adopted on 27 February 1967 to mark the achievement of self-government. A competition to design the flag was held in which more than 600 local people entered. The winning design was put forth by nationally well-known artist and sculptor Sir Reginald Samuel.
The flag of Belize was adopted on 21 September 1981, the day Belize became independent. It consists of the coat of arms of Belize on a blue field with red stripes at the top and bottom.
The official flag of Nunavut was proclaimed on 1 April 1999, along with the territory of Nunavut in Canada. It features a red inuksuk—a traditional Inuit land marker—and a blue star, which represents the Niqirtsuituq, the North Star, and the leadership of elders in the community. The colours blue and gold represent the riches of the land, sea and sky. It was adopted following a process where input was sought from local communities and submissions were solicited from the Canadian public.
The flag of Alberta is an official symbol of the province of Alberta, Canada. In 1968, the provincial legislature authorized the design of a flag, adopting it on 1 June 1968.
The flag of Yukon is a green, white, and blue tricolour with the coat of arms of Yukon at the centre above a wreath of fireweed, the territorial flower. An official flag for Yukon was created during the 1960s, a decade in which the national flag of Canada was chosen as well as several other provincial flags were created. The flag of Yukon was officially selected from a territory-wide design competition in 1967, with the winning design adopted on March 1, 1968.
The Legislative Assembly for the Australian Capital Territory is the unicameral legislature of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). It sits in the Legislative Assembly Building on Civic Square, close to the centre of the city of Canberra.
The coat of arms of Victoria is the official heraldic symbol of the Australian state of Victoria. Victoria was the second state of Australia to gain arms, granted on 6 June 1910 by royal warrant of King George V. The state had been named in 1851 after his grandmother, who reigned at the time. The current version of the arms was granted 28 March 1978 in the royal warrant issued by Queen Elizabeth II.
Kerrie Robyn Tucker is a former Australian politician and activist for the environment and human rights who was a member of the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the multi-member electorate of Molonglo for the ACT Greens between 1995 and 2001. Tucker was an unsuccessful candidate for election to the Australian Senate representing the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for the Australian Greens at the 1993, 2004, and 2007 federal elections.
The history of the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) as a separate administrative division began in 1911, when it was transferred from New South Wales to the Australian federal government. The territory contains Australia's capital city Canberra and various smaller settlements. Until 1989, it also administered the Jervis Bay Territory, a small coastal region.
The 1989 Australian Capital Territory general election was held on 4 March 1989 to elect the 1st Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly. This was the first direct election by voters in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) for their power legislative body.
The flag of Christmas Island was unofficially adopted in 1986 after being chosen the winner in a competition for a flag for the territory. It was designed by Tony Couch of Sydney, Australia. The flag was made official in 2002 on Australia Day, when the administrator of the territory, Bill Taylor, presented the flag to the Christmas Island Shire.
The Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly Building, also known as the South Building, is located on the southern side of Civic Square, London Circuit, Civic in the Australian Capital Territory. The public entrance to the Assembly is accessible from Civic Square, on the eastern side adjacent to the Canberra Theatre Centre.
The Government of the Australian Capital Territory, also referred to as the Australian Capital Territory Government or ACT Government, is the executive branch of the Australian Capital Territory, one of the territories of Australia. The leader of the party or coalition with the confidence of the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly forms government. Unlike the Australian States and the Northern Territory, the Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly directly elects one of their number to be the Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory as the head of the Government, rather than being appointed by a Governor or Administrator.
Shane Stephen Rattenbury, is the Attorney-General of the ACT and former Speaker of the ACT Legislative Assembly, and a member of the multi-member district unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly representing the electorate of Molonglo from 2008 to 2016 and the electorate of Kurrajong since 2016 for the ACT Greens. He was the first Speaker in any Parliament in the world representing a Green political party.
Roberta McRae, former Australian politician, was a member of the unicameral Australian Capital Territory Legislative Assembly from 1992 to 1998, elected to the multi-member single constituency Assembly and later elected to represent the multi-member electorate of Ginninderra for the Labor Party. A former teacher, following politics, McRae entered academia.
District tartans for the Commonwealth of Australia and for each of its constituent States have been registered in the Scottish Register of Tartans (SRT). Additionally, fashion tartans covering either Australia as a whole, or its capital city, Canberra, have been registered in the SRT, as have district tartans in respect of some of Australia's local government areas.