The Institute for Public Affairs, known for its valuable and objective research, is quoted in the Herald Sun today saying that Australia is fine just as it is, and that we don’t need to change at all. According to deputy executive director and wannabe senator James Patterson:

“On Australia Day we are often told that Australia needs to change. This poll shows why those people are wrong. We don’t need to change our flag. We don’t need to abandon our national anthem. We don’t need to change our Constitution. We don’t need to apologise for our past.”

We’d love to see new polling on what Australians think of our flag, national anthem, and whether or not we should be sorry for the atrocities that happened in our country’s short history. The problem is, the IPA’s poll of 1003 people, conducted by Research Now earlier this month, didn’t ask about any of those things. The questions it did ask and the results are here. Asking people if they agree with the statement “I am proud to be an Australian”, “Australia Day is a day for celebration” and “Do you think Australia is better or worse than other countries?” gives insight into the patriotism of Australians and their views on Australia Day, but not on the flag or the anthem.

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