The Tangled Story of New Zealand’s Flag

In New Zealand — the flag remains the same. After two flag referendums which were held by the New Zealand government in November and December 2015 and March 2016, New Zealand has finally decided in favour of a retention of the current flag.

During the first referendum, New Zealand discussed which flag was supposed to replace the “old” flag. The results put forward the black, white and blue silver fern flag by Kyle Lockwood in which black as a symbolic colour represents the pride and strength of New Zealand.

At the second referendum in March this year, there was consequently a debate whether the “new” silver fern flag or the “old” existing flag should be the symbol for New Zealand. The figures published at the end of the day were 56.7% for the current flag and 43.3% for the new silver fern flag. Thus: the flag remains the same!

Prime Minister John Kay comments in The Guardian: “Obviously I’m naturally a bit disappointed that the flag didn’t change tonight.” However, he added that he added that New Zealand could still be proud of its current flag.

But which were the arguments that put forward such a flag design debate?

First of all, New Zealand, Australia and Tuvalu are the only three out of 53 Commonwealth countries outside the UK still carrying the Union Jack on their flags. Therefore, New Zealand wants to join still promising that the connection and bond to Great Britain would not be affected by a change in flag design.

Moreover, in creating their own flag design, Britain could thus show that they are an own and independent nation using the flag as a symbol for its independence from “Mother Britain”. Even though the Queen is still head of the State, New Zealand is responsible for its own affairs and can be looked at as an isolated nation.

However, dissenting votes against a change of the flag design argued that the current flag with the Union Jack is of great importance because it emphasises the emblematic link to “Mother Britain”. Furthermore, they claimed that a change in the flag design was and is of low priority in comparison to other social and ecological problems in New Zealand and therefore a real waste of time and money.

To put it in a nutshell, we can assume that a new personalised flag would have been a performative act of revealing to the world that New Zealand, the son of “Mother Britain”, has grown up and can be regarded at as an own and independent nation. Still, New Zealand recently faces other important problems thinking of immigration and ecological problems which need to be challenges at first.

Nevertheless, Postponed is not abandoned!