on 14 February 1954 after opening the Commonwealth Parliament during her 1954 Royal Tour. It was the first of the few Commonwealth statutes enacted by the reigning monarch. Description of the act The act specifies the colours and construction details for the Australian National Flag and the Australian Red Ensign (also known as the Australian Merchant Flag). Sections 5 & 6 confer statutory powers on the Governor-General to appoint 'flags and ensigns of Australia', and authorise warrants and make rules as to use of flags. Section 8 ensures that the 'right or privilege' of a person to fly the Union Jack is not affected by the Act. The Act originally contained a serious drafting error in Table A of the Act. The outer diameter of the Commonwealth Star was recorded as being three-eighths of the width of the flag, instead of the true value of three-tenths of the width of the flag. The Act was amended to correct the error in 1954. Flags Amendment Act 1998 The Flags Amendment Act 1998 was passed after the 1996 Australian federal election, during a period where the republican movement was influential, and both the government and opposition parties were committed to bringing the issue to a head as a matter of policy. The Flags Amendment Act 1998 added to section 3 of the Flags Act and provided that the present Australian National Flag could only be replaced if a majority of State and Territory electors qualified to vote for the House of Representatives agree. It was promoted by its supporters as "ensuring a degree of protection for" and "the first substantive parliamentary steps towards defining a process for the change of" the Australian National Flag. Parliamentary debate During parliamentary debate in the House of Representatives over the Flags Amendment Bill 1996, Laurie Ferguson MP, Member for Reid, whilst supporting the legislation, raised concerns that, "...whilst the bill cements the idea of a plebiscite, with people being consulted in a manner similar to the consultation on the change to the national anthem, one of the weaknesses of the bill is that it does not set out any long-term process for the consideration of change." Referring to the fact that a future parliament may rescind or even ignore the amendment "...in theory, it is not quite what it is cracked up to be in so far as, theoretically, a new government can alter it at