Aboriginal flag row erupts in Tasmania

A row has erupted in Tasmania over displaying the Aboriginal flag in the state's
parliament.
The issue came to a head when a group of six Tasmanian Aboriginal Centre (TAC)
activists protested against the flag's placement behind the Speaker in the Lower
House.
The group says three letters requesting the flag be removed until the Aboriginal
community approves its display have been ignored.
The group does not object to its display outside the chamber but does not want it
located in a place where they say laws against their culture have been made.
The group stood in the public gallery on Wednesday shouting for the Aboriginal flag
to be withdrawn from behind the Speaker.
They shouted, "This place is where you make your laws. Remove our flag it's ours,
not yours", as they left the gallery.
The noisy protest was marred by an ugly clash between an activist and a house
attendant.
The male attendant told activist leader Nala Mansell-McKenna that she was "not a
member of the public" and was "not even an Aborigine" as he waved his finger in her
face, appearing agitated during the confrontation.
The activists said the parliament should have waited until the wider Aboriginal
community had been consulted before putting the flag on display.
Ms Mansell-McKenna said the parliament had gone ahead and put the flag up before a
consensus had been reached by Tasmania's Aboriginal community.
"It's disgraceful, we've had our children taken, we've had our land stolen and our
heritage destroyed and now we have the Tasmanian Parliament having more of a say
over our Aboriginal flag than we do," she said.
"Parliament seems to think it has the right to determine what happens to the flag
that represents our people."
Parliamentary speaker Michael Polley later said the flag was put in place earlier
this year by the will of the house and its MPs.
He couldn't say what consultation had taken place with the Aboriginal community over
its placement.
"It is a national flag," he told reporters.
"The flag will not be removed unless a notice of motion is given by somebody in the
chamber and the house approves its removal."
Ms Mansell-McKenna said she would write an official complaint to Mr Polley about the
attendant's behaviour.