I’ve designed a flag that, I believe, takes into account the many necessary cultural and historical factors – and that may help us mature as a nation.But why is this all coming to the fore again?New Zealand Prime Minister John Key recently proposed replacing New Zealand’s flag with a more distinctive national flag and Kiwis will vote on whether to do so in a referendum in the next parliamentary term.Since then, talkback host Tom Eliott – among others – has come out http://www.orderfifacoins.com/ defending the current Australian flag with its Union Jack.Fighting for the Union Jack?Few realise the overwhelming majority of the 102,000 Australians who fought and died for the British Empire did so under the Union Jack, not the current Australian flag – as did the New Zealanders who died in the world wars. Key understands this and is boldly setting New Zealand on a path which, in my view, Australia should follow.Australia should ensure its flag is distinct, inclusive and symbolic of the nation’s maturity and independence. The red ensign. (Wikimedia Commons) It was not until the Flag Act became law in 1954 that Australia’s blue ensign became the national flag. Prior to that, Australians were more familiar with the red ensign. This was the civil ensign and was recognised as the unofficial Australian flag after Federation.The blue ensign existed but was in limited circulation. At the opening of Parliament House in 1927 the flags flown were the Union Jack and the red ensign – not the blue one we currently take to be our flag. The red ensign was prominent at the opening of Parliament House in 1927. (Parliament House Art Collection.) As the American comedian Jerry Seinfeld once said, the current Australian flag is the British flag on a starry night. The dominant top left quadrant belongs to the flag of another nation, making Australia symbolically subordinate to Britain.