MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
New Zealanders have voted in a referendum to keep their existing flag
New Zealanders have voted to keep their existing flag after a national referendum, preliminary results show. The referendum asked whether the flag which includes the Union Jack should be replaced by a design called Silver Fern, which won an earlier ballot. The results show 56.6% voted for no change, while 43.1% opted for the new design. Just over 2.1m votes were cast. Read full article
Comments
Disclaimer & comment rulesGreat idea, lousy execution. Those flag designs...so uninspired. And then there is John Key's ego to consider...
Mar 25th, 2016 - 07:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0The Union Jack on your flag represents an affinity with British values of fair play and decency. Hawaii has it voluntarily and it was even changed as the Union Jack changed. Says itvall.
Mar 25th, 2016 - 09:16 am - Link - Report abuse 0Lord Lucan: I never knew that about Hawaii, had to go and have a look!
Mar 25th, 2016 - 09:57 am - Link - Report abuse 0Not sure about our values of fair play and decency though.
The new alternative flag was rubbish, if that was the best they could come up with, no wonder it got voted down.
There was really never much support for changing NZ's flag. It was more a brain fart by a leader that assumed his longevity as Prime Minister would be enough to drag along the population with his enthusiasm.
Mar 25th, 2016 - 10:11 am - Link - Report abuse 0I am immensely proud of the Australian Flag which is similar to New Zealand's. While some people can only see the flag of another country when they look at it, I don't. I see the flag in its entirety as an amalgamation of several different parts. It is the same as looking at the Union Flag and only seeing red crosses or seeing red stripes only on the US Flag. They exist but they are part of a whole not just there on their own.
As for people who get confused by our similar flags, there are much more similar flags in the world and I don't see those countries continually whining about it.
Netherlands-Luxembourg - identical except for a shades of colour
Romania-Chad - identical except for a shades of colour
Monaco-Indonesia - identical except for size and ratio
Costa Rica-Thailand
Ireland-Ivory Coast- identical except back the front
Russia-Serbia - same colours different order
Slovenia-Slovakia - same colours different crests
Egypt-Iraq-Yemen-Syria= can you tell them apart?
Austria-Latvia - same but different
Italy-Mexico - surprising how similar but rarely mistaken
Colombia-Ecuador - all about the crest
Argentina-El Salvador-Nicaragua-Honduras - shades and crests
If you can't tell the difference between Australia's and New Zealand's flags then the ones above must confuse the feck out of you.
However if Australia ever gets around to changing our flag, then the only one I'd support is the current Southern Cross centred on a dark blue field. Just drop the Union Flag and Federation Star. Nice, simple and extremely iconic.
@4 And let us not forget the similarity of the flags of Texas and Chile. I seem to recall that the Chilean flag in recent history flew over the Texas state house for some time before someone realised that something was amiss. And then there was this one:
Mar 25th, 2016 - 11:40 am - Link - Report abuse 0http://www.statesman.com/news/news/state-regional-govt-politics/county-accidentally-displays-flag-of-chile-on-ball/nRydQ/
Thank you NZ,
Mar 25th, 2016 - 02:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0as for uniformity of flags,
is it not true the 90% of flags are made up of 3 colours.
red , white and blue,
or will have a least one of these colours in them.
but I may be wrong.
Your flag is part of your history it represents who you were and are good and bad. Changing your flag doesn't change your history. New Zealanders are clearly proud of their history and their family roots with the UK.
Mar 25th, 2016 - 02:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0The Union Jack maintains the links with all the history of the UK as well their own, it makes them part of something new and also links them with the largest empire the world has ever known.
Agreed.
Mar 25th, 2016 - 09:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0@4 Skip
Mar 26th, 2016 - 02:27 am - Link - Report abuse 0An insightful, and may I say, a well considered comment.
I need to say no more.
Thank You.
ilsen
4# Skip
Mar 26th, 2016 - 12:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0“While some people can only see the flag of another country when they look at it, I don't. I see the flag in its entirety as an amalgamation of several different parts. ”
I agree, there is a lot of history attached to both flags (NZ and AUS) and the Union Jack is symbolic of an important part of that history.
In my opinion the 'flag or another country' argument is as simplistic as it is shallow as it ignores the complex nature of our relationship with the UK.
Another specious argument used by proponents for change is that the Aussie flag is not recognised by non-Australians when flown at international sporting events etc. Well as you have pointed out in your flag comparison, many of the flags of nations are very similar and easily confused. Besides there are but a handful of flags that attract instant recognition by the majority of people and one of those is the Union Jack.
Another sentiment that has emerged from the NZ referendum is the respect that Kiwis hold for the founding Fathers of their Nation and that their choice of flag should be upheld.
All of this doesn't mean that opinions wont change in the future. The pollies need to be more sensitive to the feelings and views of the electorate and remember that changes of this nature should start at the bottom and work up and not the other way round.
A good point.
Mar 26th, 2016 - 07:38 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Don't worry New Zealanders, and Australians... in about three months you will get your flag change:
Mar 27th, 2016 - 05:33 am - Link - Report abuse 0http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2760143/What-Australia-s-flag-look-like-Scotland-breaks-free-UK.html
The Scottish referendum already happened. They voted to remain part of the UK.
Mar 27th, 2016 - 11:30 am - Link - Report abuse 012
Mar 27th, 2016 - 07:21 pm - Link - Report abuse 0wake up, wake up,
12#
Mar 27th, 2016 - 11:07 pm - Link - Report abuse 0You are just another Malvinas Muppet trying to turn your fanciful view of how the world should be into a reality. As always your utterances are small on substance but big on fantasy.
But now you want to move on and inject yourself into a debate that is clearly way beyond your level of comprehension. You have nothing to offer and, anyway, the question of our national flag has SFA to do with you.
Mind your own business and stick to what you do best – pretending to be some kind of oracle and moaning about the state of the world.
Ouch, someone got hurt feelings much?
Mar 28th, 2016 - 01:39 pm - Link - Report abuse 0I could care less about the Falklands I have always insisted Argentina leave them alone and drop the claim outright.
I find it the epitome of brazen impudence you call me out for getting involved in something that has “SFA to do with me”, yet you are here in a “SOUTH ATLANTIC” news forum. And often commenting completely internal argentine affairs.
That time of the day again:
ANGLOS will be ANGLOS.
@16 “ANGLOS will be ANGLOS.”
Mar 28th, 2016 - 03:15 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Envy much?
insisted Argentina leave them alone and drop the claim outright.
Mar 28th, 2016 - 06:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0Seems fair.
Nostrils runs headlong into a conversation, blurts out whatever manic idea is in his head and then disappears.
Mar 29th, 2016 - 07:51 am - Link - Report abuse 0However going back to his original claim, why would Australia and New Zealand's flags change if Scotland gained independence?
Our flags are a product of our history position when they were adopted, not a reflection on the current UK flag. Flags in Australian and New Zealand can be changed by legislation quite easily however both country's parliaments recognise that this is not something that they could undertake without consulting the people.
Australia and New Zealand are as much a product of Scotland's history as England's and therefore I don't see why any future Union Flag changes would equate to changes to our flags. However it might indeed cause us to examine our flag and that may lead to a change, however it would not lead to a redesigned Union Flag but to a wholesale redesign.
And this isn't something that is happening in the next 3 months..... or 3 years..... indeed as much as some people hate the Australian Flag, the majority of Australians (including my Colombian flatmate who will gain citizenship this year) love it.
Skip – precisely!
Mar 29th, 2016 - 10:59 am - Link - Report abuse 016.
“yet you are here in a “SOUTH ATLANTIC” news forum. And often commenting completely internal argentine affairs.”
This may be difficult for you and the rest of the Muppets to understand but the South Atlantic is a WORLD ocean – not an Argentine lake.
When Argentina makes itself the issue by behaving like a jackbooted Nazi, these actions are no longer ‘internal’ affairs, they are actions that are an affront to all peace loving peoples and, as such, demand to be criticised and challenged by all.
The standard that you walk past is the standard that you accept. So don’t you worry, people like me will be here on this forum commenting whenever Argentina makes itself the issue and calling Muppets like you out when you get involved in issues way above your pay scale and talk garbage.
But you are right about one thing, Anglos will be Anglos. As Argentina well knows, we have a long, long history of standing up to bullies and despots and defending our friends and allies. Argentine still doesn’t get it - but it knows.
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