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Pollie flap sparks vow to finally raise the right flag

Australian Associated Press
·1-min read

Speaker Milton Dick has pledged to ensure the Australian flag over Parliament House is replaced before it gets too tattered and torn.

Liberal MP and former minister Dan Tehan took to social media this week to urge the prime minister to fix the flag, which has been ripped by recent storms in Canberra.

Mr Tehan's video tweet had almost 850,000 views.

Mr Dick told parliament on Thursday he understood and recognised the importance of the flag.

"I'm pleased to advise the process has been expedited to replace the flag," he said.

"Weather permitting, protocols will be put in place to replace the flags within the next two days."

Mr Dick said he had asked for a review of alternative options and contingencies should it happen again.

In regular conditions, the flag that flies above Parliament House is changed every four weeks, typically on the first Wednesday of each month.

But high winds and thunderstorms in Canberra have posed an unacceptable risk for a safe changeover.

And when there was an opportunity to change it, the lift mechanism experienced a mechanical fault.

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