'This is wrong!' The Bachelor's first Indigenous finalist Brooke Blurton says the Aboriginal Flag shouldn't be copyrighted after a clothing company bought 'exclusive rights' to use it
Last year, Brooke Blurton became the first ever Indigenous woman to make it to the finale of The Bachelor Australia.
And on Wednesday, the 24-year-old youth worker used her celebrity platform to raise awareness of a cause close to her heart.
Taking to Instagram, Brooke shared a link to a petition supporting Aboriginal people's right to own their own flag.
'This is wrong!' The Bachelor's first Indigenous finalist Brooke Blurton says the Aboriginal Flag shouldn't be copyrighted after a clothing company bought 'exclusive rights' to use it
Between 1997 and 2018, the Aboriginal Flag was protected under copyright law and could only be reproduced with the permission of its designer Harold Thomas.
Share this article
But in October last year, Thomas granted WAM Clothing the worldwide exclusive rights to use the flag on clothing and apparel.
Brooke wrote on Instagram: 'We think this is wrong. The flag should sit with the Aboriginal people and be treated like every other national flag in the world.'
Standing up for herself: Taking to Instagram, Brooke shared a link to a petition supporting Aboriginal people's right to own their own flag
She explained that a company had recently 'bought worldwide exclusive licensing rights on the flag', something she strongly disagrees with.
Brooke urged her fans to sign the petition, which was launched by an Aboriginal-owned fashion company called Clothing the Gap.
She added: 'Clothing the Gap have started this campaign and now trying to create as much awareness as possible.
Making history: Last year, Brooke became the first ever Indigenous woman to make it to the finale of The Bachelor Australia
'They have a petition going that has up to 42,000 signatures and have a few events coming up surrounding this matter.'
Earlier this month, Brooke claimed that Bachelor producers had asked her to delete a photo of herself wearing an Aboriginal Flag T-shirt from Instagram prior to her debut on the show.
The reason she was asked to remove the post was because all contestants were supposed to be 'incognito' on social media to avoid any potential spoilers.
Comments 0
Share what you think
No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards.
