Ballarat MP Catherine King proposed the private member’s bill following the Australian Electoral Commission’s decision last month to allow the Australia First Party to register the flag as their logo.

The bill would allow for objectors to challenge the AEC’s decision, as well as allowing the AEC to consider the historical or cultural context of a flag when reviewing proposals in future – which it was unable to do in the case of the Eureka flag.

“I think it's one thing to have it when you're seeing it flying at different protests – but having it registered as a party logo, trying to associate themselves so closely with it in a party political way to engender votes - to me that goes too far,” Ms King said.

“There are families whose ancestors died at Eureka who have a particular view of the flag.

“With the AEC not being able to take that into consideration that's how we've been able to have this eventuality and I think that's taken it a step too far for me.” 

Australia First Party chairman Jim Saleam said he could understand organisations like Federation University being “queasy” at the party adopting the flag as their logo. 

The university was one of 11 objectors to the party’s application to the AEC.

Dr Seleam, speaking from the party’s base in New South Wales, said no person or party should have possession of the Eureka flag – although if a multicultural group were to align themselves with the flag he would “denounce them as frauds” but stop short of a legal challenge. 

He said any challenge to reverse the AEC’s decision would be fought to “the limits of our ability”. 

“We’re a nationalist organisation and if you look at the original Labor values going back a century our ideas and their ideas are virtually identical,” he said.

The federal government will now decide whether the bill proceeds to a debate and vote in early 2017. 

Objectors to the Australia First Party’s use of the flag included The Australia Workers’ Union and Liberal Democratic Party Senator David Leyonhjelm, who argued the logo would imply a relationship between the two parties which did not exist. 

The Australia First Party received just 3005 votes for its two senate candidates in this year’s federal election.