Great Canadian Flag Debate a blue background. Pearson preferred this choice, as the blue bars reflected Canada's motto, "From Sea to Sea". On June 15, 1964, Pearson opened the parliamentary flag debate with a resolution: Pearson sought to produce a flag which embodied history and tradition, but he also wanted to excise the Union Jack as a reminder of Canada's heritage and links to the United Kingdom. Hence, the issue was not whether the maple leaf was pre-eminently Canadian, but rather whether the nation should exclude the British-related component from its identity. Diefenbaker led the opposition to the Maple Leaf flag, arguing for the
Australian flag debate the flag." The prime minister, Bob Hawke, subsequently announced in the House of Representatives that the design of the Australian flag would not be reviewed by the Australian government before or during the bicentenary year. Paul Keating publicly championed the cause of a new flag during his term as prime minister, including on a state visit to Indonesia. He was quoted as saying: I do not believe that the symbols and the expression of the full sovereignty of Australian nationhood can ever be complete while we have a flag with the flag of another country on the corner of it.