Key decision on national flag | New Zealand flag
There are two Key names when it comes to national flags. The American flag, of course, is honored with “The Star-Spangled Banner,” written by Francis Scott Key 200 years ago. And now New Zealand’s Prime Minister John Key wants a new national flag to supplant the current one.
The island’s flag, formally adopted in June 1902, shows the British Union Jack in the upper left, with a scattering of four stars on a field of blue, representative of the Southern Cross, a symbol of the south Pacific. Key’s rationale for a change is that the flag looks too much like the Australian banner and does not represent his nation’s diverse population.
The prime minister plans a referendum to ask citizens if they are open to changing the flag. If they are, it is expected that a committee will be assembled to come up with a new design. Key recommends a silver fern on black. The plant is native to the island, and its image has been used for decades by sports teams.
A website has been established to promote a new flag (www.nzflag.com). There, the history of the fern is given, noting that “it first appeared on an official New Zealand flag in 1908. The Silver Fern was the predominant badge of our army in World War I and the official insignia of the 2nd New Zealand Division in World War II.”
On the website, NZ citizens are asked to ponder some questions: Does the current flag represent “our country as we see it today? Does the current flag reflect our vision for New Zealand’s future? Does the flag portray the image we want to give?…Does it inspire us?”
The site also explains what’s wrong with the flag, including that it “evolved from a naval flag,” and “New Zealanders have never voted for [it].”
Endorsements for a new flag have come from many New Zealanders, including authors, athletes, news people and politicians. One of them, Christopher Doig, who played cricket and became an opera singer, asserted, “I am a strong supporter of a change in our flag, not because I am anti-establishment or anti-royalty, but because our traditional flag does not define our uniqueness….It is far too derivative of a past era and is for many indistinguishable from the Australian flag.”
Stay tuned. There may soon be a new national flag waving in the world’s wind.