A local Council in the Hunter Valley is offering free flags ahead of Australia Day despite declining numbers of public holiday celebrations.
Maitland’s Mayor Philip Penfold announced last week that his council would provide locals with large flags for annual celebrations on January 26.
‘In the lead up to Australia Day, Maitland Council will give away FREE Australian-made flags to be displayed at households within Maitland,’ he said on Facebook.
The council will offer two types of Australian-made flag: one that can be raised on a flagpole and a second with a bracket and pole kit to be attached to a house’s exterior wall.
‘I wonder why we’re a country now where it’s controversial to promote flying your own flag,’ Mr Penfold told 2GB on Wednesday.
‘We want Maitland residents to know they can be proud of their flag, of their country, and we’re doing our little bit to promote that.
‘It’s a small token gesture, but it means a lot to a lot of people.’
Locals in Maitland have celebrated the council initiative, which is being put on for a second year.
People in Maitland have been offered free flags for Australia Day for a second year (pictured, Australians celebrate the public holiday at Wave Break Island in Gold Coast)
Mayor Philip Penfold (pictured) questioned why it is controversial to fly the Australian flag
‘I’d fly one at my home. How do we capitalise on this,’ a user said.
Another said: ‘Great to see. I’d love a house-mounted one. We are so lucky to live in Australia.’
Mr Penfold also compared the increasing number of Australian flags he has seen flown across the country to the national pride in the United States.
‘As a teenager, I did spend a year living in the States and I certainly got to see the pride that they have in their flag,’ he said.
‘I’m trying to encourage that here. It’s a shame that it seems to be controversial.’
The council has an allocated budget of $5000 to $10,000 but the mayor said he expects demand to surpass the number of flags they can offer.
The decision seems to be contrary to the growing politicisation of the public holiday as more than 150 councils across Australia did not hold citizenship ceremonies on Australia Day this year.
The figures, unearthed by a Daily Mail audit of the country’s 500-plus councils, found at least 154 councils are not welcoming any new citizens on 26 January.
More than 150 councils across Australia did not hold citizenship ceremonies on the public holiday during January 2025, an audit by Daily Mail revealed
Many of the councils surveyed revealed it was just one of the measures they were taking to make January 26 feel more inclusive.
Some chose to lower flags to half-mast that day, and others held healing ceremonies for their new citizens.
The decline in celebrations reflects the fact the public holiday is also called Survival Day or Invasion Day by Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities, as well as some non-Indigenous people.
On January 26 in 1788, and in the centuries after, First Nations people suffered massacres, land theft, stolen children and oppression at the hands of colonising forces.
As a result, it is a day for many to mourn the history that followed the arrival of Sir Arthur Phillip and the First Fleet, not-for-profit Common Ground notes.