From 10,000+ to 40 possible flags

The Flag Consideration Panel has whittled 10,292 flag designs submitted down to a long-list of 40.

If you click on the link you’ll see who submitted each one.

I am open to change but am not keen on the black and white or black and grey ones second and third from the left in the third line and I don’t think the second from the left in the bottom line is a distinctively New Zealand image.

My favourite is third down on the left, designed by Kyle Lockwood, supported, or variations of which were submitted, by 12 others.

The silver fern: A New Zealand icon for over 160 years, worn proudly by many generations. The fern is an element of indigenous flora representing the growth of our nation. The multiple points of the fern leaf represent Aotearoa’s peaceful multicultural society, a single fern spreading upwards represents that we are all one people growing onward into the future. The bright blue represents our clear atmosphere and the Pacific Ocean, over which all New Zealanders, or their ancestors, crossed to get here. The Southern Cross represents our geographic location in the antipodes. It has been used as a navigational aid for centuries and it helped guide early settlers to our islands.

Chair of the panel, Professor John Burrows says:

. . . “We would like to thank everyone for their design suggestions and we’ve been impressed with the very high standard. The Panel made a unanimous decision and selected flag designs we believe best reflect New Zealand’s identity, as shared with us in the values and themes that New Zealanders expressed throughout this process.

In reviewing alternatives, we were guided that a potential new flag should unmistakably be from New Zealand and celebrate us as a progressive, inclusive nation that is connected to its environment, and has a sense of its past and vision for its future.

The Panel has made its preliminary selection of flag designs that it believes best represent the range of suggestions it has received. It is important that those designs are timeless, can work in a variety of contexts, are simple, uncluttered, balanced and have good contrast,” said Professor Burrows. . .

Public meetings didn’t attract many people. That isn’t surprising these days and the process has engendered a lot of interest:

• 10,292 alternative designs published

• 850,000+ online visits

• 6,000+ visits to workshops and information stands

• 1.18m+ people reached by Facebook

• 146,000+ views of the NZ flag history video

• 43,000+ New Zealanders have shared what they stand for (online & via post)

For the statiscially minded:

In an open letter the panel says:

We want to thank everyone for the 10,292 designs you’ve suggested. Each of these was viewed by every Panel member. We have been impressed with the very high standard and greatly appreciate the thought and hard work that went into these designs. As a Panel, we have now selected a long list of designs for further investigation as part of the design review process.

A great flag should be distinctive and so simple it can be drawn by a child from memory. A great flag is timeless and communicates swiftly and potently the essence of the country it represents. A flag should carry sufficient dignity to be appropriate for all situations in which New Zealanders might be represented. It should speak to all Kiwis. Our hope is that New Zealanders will see themselves reflected in these flags’ symbols, colour and stories.

In reviewing flag designs, first and foremost, we were guided by what thousands of Kiwis across a range of communities told us when they shared what is special to them about New Zealand. This provided the Panel, and flag designers, with valuable direction as to how New Zealanders see our country and how those values might best be expressed in a new flag.

The message was clear, and the Panel agreed. A potential new flag should unmistakably be from New Zealand and celebrate us as a progressive, inclusive nation that is connected to its environment, and has a sense of its past and a vision for its future.

In finalising the long list we invited a number of cultural (including tikanga), vexillology (the study of flags), art and design experts to review the selection, to ensure the designs are workable and there are no known impediments. Detailed due diligence will now be completed on these designs, including robust intellectual property checks.

As a Panel, we’ve been appointed by government to determine the 4 alternative flag designs in a neutral and unbiased way. We are committed to doing that. We have selected for the long list designs that we believe best reflect the values New Zealanders have shared with us and you can view these in the long list gallery:

By mid-September we will select the 4 alternatives which eligible voters will rank in the first binding referendum later this year. This will be the opportunity for people to express their preferences and make choices. We encourage you to make sure you are enrolled to vote so that you can take part in this nationally significant process. In March next year, New Zealand will make history when it votes between the current flag and the preferred alternative.

Ngā mihi nui kia koutou katoa.

Regards,

Flag Consideration Panel:

• Prof John Burrows (Chair), ONZM, QC
• Nicky Bell
• Peter Chin, CNZM
• Julie Christie, ONZM
• Rod Drury
• Kate De Goldi (Deputy Chair)
• Beatrice Faumuina, ONZM
• Lt Gen (Rtd) Rhys Jones, CNZM
• Stephen Jones
• Sir Brian Lochore, ONZ, KNZM, OBE
• Malcolm Mulholland
• Hana O’Regan.

And for those who aren’t sure if we should be considering a change:

Quote of the day

A stranger who saw the Australian flag and the New Zealand flag outside adjacent buildings would assume that some British hotel chain was advertising deluxe and standard rooms. – David Lange

Hat tip: changetheNZflag

One opportunity this century

Prime Minister John Key has accepted a challenge from MoreFM breakfast host Simon Barnett to make his case for a change of the New Zealand flag in six minutes this morning at 7:40 a.m.

If he needs inspiration, Mahe Drysdale has provided it:

I have raced under the current flag, I have led the New Zealand Olympic team into the Opening ceremony in 2008 and closing ceremony in 2012 carrying the current flag and I have had the flag raised with the national anthem played at 5 World Championship and the Olympic games and been photographed numerous times holding the flag.

From that you might think the current flag is pretty special to me! Well it has been a big part of my celebrations over the years but I don’t race for the flag, I race for New Zealand and the people of New Zealand. The flag represents us as a nation it identifies our nation and if it’s the current flag or a new one I will continue to proudly represent New Zealand under either.

My issue with the current flag is, I don’t think it truly represents who we are and how we have evolved as a nation since the current flag was adopted over 100 years ago in 1902. We are now in the minority of countries of former British dominions that still has a flag with the union flag (jack) in its flag.

Whether you agree with the referendum about changing the flag or not, doesn’t really matter. It is going to happen and so I encourage everyone in New Zealand to have a good think about it and make your opinion count. If you truly like the current flag, vote for it. Personally I think we can do better and this is an opportunity that may never happen again in our lifetime to choose a flag that is distinctly New Zealand, represents us and we can all be proud of. Lets not be scared of change.

It’s more than a century since the current flag was adopted, we won’t get another chance to vote on whether or not to change it for a similar length of time.

Personally I like the Southern Cross, I like the Silver Fern, I like the Koru, I like the Kiwi to me these are symbols New Zealanders can identify with and represent New Zealand as a country. I do get annoyed overseas when people can’t distinguish us from the Aussies, as they don’t know that we have red stars and they have white ones. I believe we have moved on from being governed by the UK so it would be a good time to show our independence by dropping the union Jack from our flag.

As for colours red, white and blue, they are UK colours, again I like black and white they are our national colours, blue at a stretch due to the large amount of sky and sea we have. People say black and white is too much like Isis, I say rubbish I think people can tell the difference between a flag with Arabic writing and a kiwi symbol, plus we can’t let a terror group control what colours we use. Those are my personal views but again its up to all the people of the nation to decide what they like best.

The best example I can think of is the Canadian flag, again when this changed to the current flag back in the 1960’s it was highly controversial, but I think it is now a striking flag with the red and white (national colours) and maple leaf (national symbol) it is very easy to identify it’s the Canadian flag and I certainly don’t hear anyone complaining about it any more.

I have heard various views from our veterans and the RSA regarding why we can’t change the flag, as its disrespectful to those that fought under the flag. I hugely value what all veterans have done for our country and what they have sacrificed for people like myself. I certainly don’t wish to disrespect them or their views but I have two points here.  One by fighting for us they insured we didn’t end up having the German or Japanese flag and they have given us the ability to live in a democracy where the people of the country get to make decisions like what flag we want to represent us as a nation. Secondly and again I don’t wish to belittle what they have done in any way, as they certainly made the ultimate sacrifice for us all.  But I don’t buy the argument that they fought for the flag, I believe they fought for the nation, the great people that live in New Zealand and because they believed in our nation, not because they liked the flag. We aren’t after all dishonoring the current flag, just discussing if its time for a make over, the current flag will always be a big part of our history.

New Zealanders didn’t fight under our flag in WWI, they fought under the British one.  New Zealand soldiers did, and still do, wear a fern and those who died in service have a fern on their graves.

So this leads me back to the referendum, at around $26 million this seems like an expensive exercise. The thing is though, whether you agree or not, it is happening. So lets make it worthwhile. It will be a waste of money if everyone says I don’t care and doesn’t think about it.

It is a lot of money over a couple of years, but not nearly as much spread across more than a century since the current flag was adopted and a similar time before there is likely to be another chance for us to vote on the matter.

The decision to spend the money has been made, the waste will be if people close their minds and refuse to engage in the process.

Lets all put our heads together, really think about it and decide if you truly think our current flag represents us as a nation in 2015 and going forward for generations. Or is it time to change and use this once in a lifetime opportunity to come up with something we can all be proud of. A flag that stands out and uniquely identifies us. Personally I believe kids under the official voting age should have a say in this referendum, they are after all the ones who will have to live with it for the longest!

Personally I hope there is a change option that I can identify with and I like more than the current flag, either way the people of New Zealand get to make the decision and I will proudly represent our nation under whatever flag the nation decides, I just hope it will be one like the Canadian flag that has our national colours and some unique Kiwi symbol(s).

Mike Hosking agrees:

. . . My gut is the new design must contain the fern. The same way the Canadians respond to the maple leaf, if there is one thing that is instantly recognisable all over the world that is ours, it’s the fern.

But let’s at least start to take this thing seriously, those of us who have laughed or joked or questioned the very existence of this whole process (like me). Let’s at least accept it’s here, it’s real and once they get to the pointy end of the choice, let’s put a bit of weight around our place in the world and the role a flag plays in that.

What we want to say about ourselves, what sort of course we want to chart, what sort of message we want to send.

Mahe is right – this is a once in a lifetime chance. We squander it at our peril.

The Flag Consideration panel had more than 10,292 designs submitted from which they will choose the four we will vote on.

Several have a silver fern and four stars, among them is this one which I like:

Designed by: Kyle Lockwood from Nelson

Suggested by: Andrew Whelan from Nelson

I believe the Silver fern is central to our nation’s identity and deserves pride of place on our flag. In war, in sport and in commerce it is the symbol of our country that has outlived all others, and under which we all unite regardless of cultural or ethnic differences. I think black has also become an important part of our identity, and this version of Kyle’s flag allows the black to celebrate the southern cross flying in our clear night sky while still allowing for a touch of colour, and retaining a little of the red, white and blue of its predecessor.

 Lockwood has another variation on this flag with the black and blue reversed.

. . . Black has been a gazetted official New Zealand colour since at least 1975, along with red and white, and the colour blue features on our official coat of arms and, of course, our present flag which was made official in 1902.

The colours black, red, white and blue were also on New Zealand’s first home grown flag design of 1834.

Black also featured strongly on New Zealand war service medals, given to our brave soldiers after World War Two, it is a significant colour to Maori, and features on the Maori National Flag of New Zealand made official in 2011. . .

Contrary to popular belief the silver fern did not start out as a rugby football symbol, it actually was first worn by New Zealand troops in 1853, and in the 1880s was adopted by our rugby team, firstly as a gold fern on a navy blue Jersey. It wasn’t until the early 1900s that the silver fern on an all‐black jersey became well known.

Like the maple leaf to Canada, the silver fern ‘screams New Zealand’, and it’s not just a mere sports symbol. In far off fields lie our soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice, forever memorialised under the silver fern.

The fern is on our army and navy logos, our firefighter and police uniforms, it’s on our money, it’s on our passports, it’s on our national airliners, it’s our symbol and it’s time we put it on our flag.

In examining our history and growing sense of national identity, it appears that many would like to include our famous national colour black, and of course many others would not like to see a fully black flag with all the piracy connotations that it invokes.

Perhaps this flag, with a nod to our past, incorporating all of New Zealand’s national colours and the fern, is the design that best represents New Zealand ‐ without the colonial overtones of the Union flag that takes up the dominant position on our present flag.

And, like the flags of Belgium and South Africa, it also doesn’t suffer from an overuse of black.

Black is our obvious national colour. It represents the pride and strength of New Zealand. To Māori, black represents potential, and signifies the beginning of time, which is apt, given our position as one of the first nations to see the new day.

The colour blue, representing the pacific, and our clear skies, along with the traditional New Zealand Southern Cross in red, gives this proposed national flag the required vibrancy that a silver fern on an entirely black background cannot achieve. By incorporating the Southern Cross and colours from our present flag, I believe the design also honours our history.

The fern says New Zealand in a way the current flag doesn’t:

Why change the flag? New Zealand needs a flag which is instantly recognisable – so our troops don’t have to add a black-and-white Kiwi beneath a camouflaged flag so that they’re not confused for Australian or British soldiers.

So many shades of stupid

Andrew Little’s latest desperate ploy for publicity merely demonstrates so many shades of stupid.

. . . Labour leader Andrew Little has described God Defend New Zealand as “a dirge” and claims many Kiwis prefer to sing along to the Australian anthem. A dirge can mean a mournful song or a lament for the dead. . .

I will concede that the anthem is sometimes dirge-like and have blogged on that.

But that is only when it’s played that way.

If played at a decent tempo it is rousing as an anthem should be.

But to claim that many of us prefer to sing Advance Australia Fair?

As anthems go, it’s a good one but if many of the Kiwis he mixes with prefer to sing along to the Aussie anthem than our own it suggests he’s in touch with a sad subset of people and out of touch with the majority.

The stupidest thing about this outburst, though is the timing when he’s doing the best to sabotage the flag-change process in spite of being on record saying he not only favours a change he supports the referendum process for it.

Here’s Labour’s official policy from 2014:

Labour will: review the design of the New Zealand flag involving flag design experts and with full public consultation and involvement.

We believe that the time has come for a change and it is right for the issue to be put to the public.

And in case that isn’t clear enough, here’s his personal views from last October:

Q: Should NZ change its flag: What’s your personal opinion? Should there be a referendum? If you want the flag changed, what’s your favourite design?

A: Yes, my personal opinion is we should have something more relevant to an independent, small Asia/Pacific nation. I think a referendum is a suitable way to deal with an issue that can be very polarising. . .

Had Labour, perish the thought, got into government then not gone ahead with the consultation and referendum it would stand accused of breaking an election promise.

Going back on the commitment to change for petty political purposes and thereby politicising the process when the government has done all it can to involve other parties is at least as bad.

Given Little’s precarious position, when he’s failed to gain traction for himself and his party and he’s now even less popular than Winston Peters, he should be very careful about making funereal references.

Ask not for whom the dirge plays, it could be playing for his political ambition.

And to those who say the flag issue is merely bread and circuses to distract the masses, you have a very low opinion of the ability most of us to care and do something about more than one thing at a time.

 

Referenda in right order

The Bill on the referenda on changing our flag completed its second reading yesterday.

This bill establishes a process for the holding of two postal referendums on the New Zealand Flag. The first will determine which alternative flag design is preferred by voters, and the second will determine whether that alternative flag or the current flag is to be the New Zealand Flag.

The Minister responsible Bill English said the bill would ensure debate about the flag was completed in a respectful way.

A number of people questioned the order of the questions being asked, but the committee by a majority decided to stick with bill as drafted. Mr English said he believed it was the logical process to follow so people could decide between alternatives.

The wisdom of having two referenda in this order was confirmed for me by the results of Gareth Morgan’s flag competition.

The winner of the Morgan Foundation’s $20,000 flag competition is “Wā kāinga / Home”, designed by Auckland based Studio Alexander.

Economist and philanthropist Gareth Morgan set up the competition because he had strong views on what the flag should represent but he couldn’t draw one himself. In particular he wanted to see more flag designs that honoured the spirit of the Treaty of Waitangi – two partners agreeing to share this land and look after each other.

Morgan felt the government competition wasn’t delivering on this respect because the design brief wasn’t clear. So he created his own design brief and threw in some prize money to flush out some genuine designers. This appears to have worked – Morgan’s competition attracted just under 1,000 entries and as a result the diversity of entries in the government process has also improved.

To judge the winner Morgan enlisted the help of a team of designers Mark Pennington, (head designer Formway), Catherine Griffiths (designer and typographer) and Desna Whaanga-Schollum (Nga Aho co-chair). The judges focussed on the flag design, while Morgan was more interested in the story behind the flag. Wā kāinga / Home was the one design they could agree told a strong story and adhered to the principles of good flag design.

Studio Alexander chief Grant Alexander said they entered because “our imagination was captured by the Morgan Foundation’s professional approach. A good brief, design professionals judging and an appropriate financial reward.”

The winning design brings the different parts of New Zealand society together, similar to the South African flag. The three coloured triangles symbolize Maori (red) who invited their Treaty partners to share the land, the heritage of British settlers (blue), and our modern multicultural society (black). These three influences are brought together by the white space, which is also reminiscent of the Maihi (the diagonal bargeboards) on the front of a Maori meeting house.

 

I am open to a change of flag but if this was the one which was put up against the existing one I’d vote for the status quo.

If we are to have a new flag, I want one which is distinctively New Zealand’s and this one isn’t.

This is why the referendum to decide which design could become the new flag must come first, otherwise we’d be voting blind and could end up with a design most of us don’t like.

 

 

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 7000 in the gallery.

The deadline for submissions is today.

This one is Unity (3D) by Dave Sauvage.

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 7000 in the gallery.

Submissions close tomorrow.

The top three at Rate the Flag when I checked last night were:

Pikopiko Southern Cross (#7297)

Designed by: Geoffrey Joe

This is a re-bound of Grant Pascoe’s ‘Pikopiko’ (https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/gallery/design/5641) with the added sky blue and southern-cross.

Maori And Nz/Euro (#2305)

Designed by: Jeffy James (On John Ansell’S Website)

It’s a combination of Maori and NZ/Euro reflecting the Treaty of Waitangi and the way NZers live like my family with both NZ/Euro and Maori family members. It’s arty and stylish and not colonial looking.

Land Of The Long White Cloud (#1066)

By Chris Roberts:

Simple. Modern. Clean. Distinctive.

The two contrasting colours used are white and deep blue. White is used for the stars of the Southern Cross and the rolling cloud. The deep blue background represents both the clean skies and the Pacific Ocean surrounding New Zealand.

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 5000 in the gallery.

This one is Star Skyped Koru by Christopher Hall.

 

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 5000 in the gallery .

This is From the Southern Mountains to the Northern Sea by Melissa Hinves:

 

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 4000 in the gallery.

This is Aotearoa Under Southern Cross by Christian Vollert:

 

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 5000 in the gallery already.

This one is Kiwi Fern Cross Blue by Peter Baker:

 

 

 

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 4000 in the gallery already.

The three most preferred when I checked  Rate the Flag yesterday were:

Panekiretanga (#10279)

By Martyn Bennett

the blue represents the sky,
the white is the cloud and reflects the Maori name Aotearoa
green is for the land.

Manawa (The Peoples Choice) Blue Sky Version (#681)

 By OtisFrizzell

This is another version of my design. The Southern Cross on the blue background pays homage to the current flag, but the maori design element replaces the Union Jack.

Coru And Southern Cross (#2473)

By Otis Frizzell

simple. the southern cross is ” part of NZ” the coru is “part of NZ”

I’ve looked at the second and third several times and can’t spot any difference – what am I missing?

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 4000 in the gallery already.

This is Aotearoa Night Sky by Oliver Wall:

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 4000 in the gallery already.

This is Wakatearoa by Mari Pettersson:

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 4000 in the gallery already.

This is Koru and Fern by Alan T.

 

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 4000 in the gallery already.

This one is Circling Fern by Glen Snow:

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 4000 in the gallery already.

This one is In Between Rangi and Papa by Kay McQuire:

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 5000 in the gallery .

The three most popular at Rate The Flag are:

Coru And Southern Cross (#2473)

Designed by: Otis Frizzell

Simple. the southern cross is ” part of NZ” the coru is “part of NZ.

Strong Hold (#7671)

Designed by

Designed by: Travis Cunningham

It is simple and clean and depicts nature and heritage

Land Of The Long White Cloud (#1066)

Designed by Chris Roberts.

Simple. Modern. Clean. Distinctive.

The two contrasting colours used are white and deep blue. White is used for the stars of the Southern Cross and the rolling cloud. The deep blue background represents both the clean skies and the Pacific Ocean surrounding New Zealand.

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 4000 in the gallery already.

This one is Follow the Southern Cross by Andy Law:

Flag of the day

The Flag Consideration Panel is inviting people to upload designs for a new flag.

There are more than 4000 in the gallery already.

This one is Stars and Silver Ferns by Steve Juergens: