Australia Day 2010

Question: What's different? Read on for the answer.

Happy Australia Day from my balcony overlooking South Brisbane. Sun has drifted into shadow and a breeze is gradually sweeping out the afternoon heat. Amplified sounds of an Aboriginal performer to the south is battling a rock band's eastern thunder. Walked South Bank's foreshore two hours ago and people were already staking spots to watch tonight's fireworks over the Brisbane River.

The Aboriginal performer now sounds as if he's complementing the sound of his didgeridoo with primal scream therapy.

It's mesmerising.

Answer: The top one includes the Aborigine flag, the one below does not. Thus, this pair of images represents a rare gaffe by Google. The top (and original) design was created by an 11-year-old student named Jessie Du. It won a Google-sponsored competition to appear on the search engine giant's homepage today. A last-minute flap with the Aboriginal flag's copyright owner resulted in Google stripping the flag from the drawing and using the bottom one shown above. A terrible outcome for all parties.

The design of the Australian national flag (left) is likewise in the spotlight. A respected Aussie 'journo' named Ray Martin is pushing for a new flag, saying he believes the current one is 'too colonial'. He mostly objects to the Union Jack, which of course dates to Australia's origins as a dumping ground for England's poor and unruly. (Convicts? Yes. Criminals? No. Stealing a loaf of bread because you're hungry doesn't make someone a criminal.)

Another well-known Aussie, rock musician Mark Seymour, gave the 'Australia: Love It Or Leave It' crowd a sharp slap to the head in a column inspired by those words on a bumper sticker. I instantly related to Seymour's impatience, as many Americans spout that nationalistic garbage like a dog throwing up pieces of its plastic bowl.

It may be served, but you'd be stupid to eat it.

This photo (right) is indicative of the scene I encountered walking from the State Library of Queensland through South Bank to my apartment. Kids splashed while moms and dads hovered in shorts and t-shirts, Pacific Islanders did cannon balls into deep water, teens in boardies and bikinis soaked the sun and waved cheap plastic Aussie flags at each other, Asian and Indian families huddled in pockets of shade, eating ice cream to keep cool.

Australia Day. A good day, for every type of Australian.