The idea of replacing new zealands flag has percolated for decades. New zealand is voting on a new flag and the 4 designs. You can talk about the issues you even have your own show for that. Keep the current flag change to the ferncross flag dont vote eligible voters will choose between the current new zealand flag and the alternative design that. The nz herald reports that 53% of voters are against changing the flag. In 2014 prime minister john key announced a twostage referendum process to determine whether new zealanders wanted a new national flag. I think the biggest reason was the designs that were offered. The government of new zealand announced 40 possible designs for a new national flag on monday, as the country prepares to vote in a referendum that could result in the retirement of. New zealand is about to hold an unusual referendum. You can t vote in nz elections unless you re on the electoral roll. The flag remains dominated by the union jack in a way that we ourselves are no. Even one of the members of the new zealand flag panel was given a lanyard with his name and an australian flag, at a flag conference. The first new zealand flag referendum was decided using instant runoff voting, which wikipedia can explain better than me.
Flag consideration project department of the prime minister and. Despite criticism of the cost of the vote and the process, he argued that it had at. Ballot on whether to replace colonialera flag will extend over the next three weeks, with results expected on march 24. General elections decide who represents us in government. If were going to change, lets have something exciting we can believe in. And polls may not give us an accurate idea of what the. The final stage in new zealands bid to change its flag has begun, with voters asked to choose between the current design and a silver fern against blue and black. You can say a lot of bad things about the alternative flag, but probably the worst is that it makes the current flag look good, said commentator finlay macdonald on the radio new zealand. What will the new zealand flag referendum vote mean for. If you would like to participate, you can visit the project page, where you can join the project and see a list of open tasks.
It is a preferential voting system in which voters rank the candidates in order of preference. Only citizens should vote on flag change nz first rnz news. Vote opens on new zealand flag referendum sbs news. Unlike in australia, the flag debate in new zealand is occurring independently of debate about becoming a republic. Regardless of whether you will vote in the referendum, which would you like to be the new zealand flag.
Acknowledge maori heritage speaking of similarities to australian flag, the left one is aussie and the one on the right is nz. New zealand flag vote as it happened world news the. Dear new zealand, please reconsider these 9 rejected flag. It must be glaringly obvious that you cant have a silver fern that is black, white and blue. Page 2 folding and storing the flag pdf can i use the new zealand flag on my website or in advertising. Any person or organisation may use the new zealand flag in advertising. New zealand flag options fly ahead of vote to ditch union. New zealanders to vote on flag change in 2016 telegraph. It will, i suspect, depend on how right the polls are and how close the vote in nz is, and how many overseas people vote. Lessons from new zealands disappointing and now complete. Flag referenda flags of new zealand nzhistory, new. Keep the current flag change to the ferncross flag dont vote eligible voters will choose between the current new zealand flag and the alternative design that was selected by voters in the. Mar 02, 2016 the final stage in new zealands bid to change its flag has begun, with voters asked to choose between the current design and a silver fern against blue and black.
What will the new zealand flag referendum vote mean for john key. Mar 02, 2016 you can say a lot of bad things about the alternative flag, but probably the worst is that it makes the current flag look good, said commentator finlay macdonald on the radio new zealand. Read a summary and download our full report on the flag referendums. But at the end of the day its your vote to use how you choose. So my plea to all new zealand voters whichever way you choose to vote in the referendum, vote for positive reasons. Check the designs for the new nz flag and help kiwis make up their minds. They invited the general public to submit designs, and got about 11 thousand submissions, so there were probably some in there that would have been popular. New zealand will hold a binding referendum in 2016 on changing the national flag, with prime minister john key hoping to drop the current design featuring britains union jack in favour of a.
New zealand prime minister john key, a big proponent of changing. Whether you want to keep the current flag, vote for red peak, a fern or the koru, this bill will allow all views to be heard. Enrol online now and get ready to have your say in new zealands elections and referendums. Whichever flag wins will go up against the current flag in a second vote in march to decide if new zealand gets a new flag. Out of more than 0 designs submitted, new zealanders will vote on five, then.
There are a lot that qualify as a citizen you have to have visited nz in the last 3 years, so there may be a lot more than i originally thought that qualify to vote. The alternative silver fern flag l next to the current flag of new zealand r. New zealand flag referendum gets under way world news the. The missing vote in new zealands flag referendum stuff. New zealanders will soon get to vote on whether to replace a flag that harks back to the countrys colonial past with one that some, including the prime minister, suggest would better suit its.
Answers to common questions ministry for culture and. Common criticisms of the current design of the new zealand flag are its similarity to the australian flag and the inappropriateness of retaining the union jack in the design. New zealand is holding a referendum on whether their flag should be replaced. New zealand flag referendum gets under way world news. The first flag of new zealand was adopted 9 or 20 march 1834 by a vote made by the united tribes of new zealand, a meeting of maori chiefs convened at waitangi by british resident james busby. Voting on new zealands new flag design begins on friday and although the final five options are flying high at test sites across the country, veterans are. I bet if the opinion polls were closer or slanted the other way you would certainly vote lest the wrong flag win. B this article has been rated as bclass on the projects quality scale. New zealand has a history of debate about whether the national flag should be changed. New zealand has made it to the news all over the world. Voting begins in final new zealand flag referendum cnn.
Find out if you re eligible to enrol and vote in new zealands elections. The new zealand flag referendums act 2015 received royal assent on 14 august. The new zealand flag was eventually announced as the winner with a healthy 45. Trump threatens to adjourn congress to install nominees. Those who voted in the first referendum in november 2015 selected a black, white and blue design featuring a silver fern and the stars of the southern cross from among five shortlisted options for a new flag. Below are the silver fern flag and the current nz flag, the flags new zealand will choose between in the final binding referendum in march 2016. Then, in march 2014, key announced that a public vote on the flag would. Two new zealand flag referendums were held by the new zealand government in. New zealand flag vote as it happened ten months and tens of million dollars later, the existing flag has won an historic referendum with more than 56% of the vote updated.
This is how new zealand citizens choose who represents them in parliament. Oct 29, 2014 new zealand will hold a binding referendum in 2016 on changing the national flag, with prime minister john key hoping to drop the current design featuring britains union jack in favour of a. Ten months and tens of million dollars later, the existing flag has won an historic referendum with more than 56% of the vote. What led to new zealand considering changing the flag. Lessons from new zealands disappointing and now complete flag referendum. Some people are guessing the outcome but theres been no polls since the alternative flag option was chosen by last decembers referendum so its difficult to judge what the outcome could be. Answers to common questions ministry for culture and heritage. The people of new zealand have voted not to change the countrys. A brief explanation of the new zealand flag referendum. New zealand first says only citizens should be able to vote in the flag referendum. For several decades, alternative designs have been proposed, with varying degrees of support. You must reproduce the flag in its true form and colours. Nov 17, 2015 voting on new zealands new flag design begins on friday and although the final five options are flying high at test sites across the country, veterans are resisting change saying theres a lot of.
What will the new zealand flag referendum vote mean for john. Take a look back at our live coverage as new zealand voted to keep its existing flag. Opinion by carolyn skelton i will be voting to retain our british colonialnz flag, for now, because the whole process related to marchs referendum is fatally flawed. In the second and final referendum next month, voters will choose.
Any new zealand citizen and permanent resident who is 18 or over and whose name is on either the maori or general electoral roll before election day can vote in a general election. Nz flag options fly ahead of vote to ditch union jack abc news. Voting begins in final new zealand flag referendum. If you want to have a say in a flag, surely your belief is that you want to be. New zealand is voting on a new flag and the 4 designs have. Ballots are initially distributed based on each electors first preference. New zealand debates replacing union jack flag, but with what. Enrol to vote in new zealands elections and referendums. New zealands flag is very similar to australias flag, and features a union jack as a canton, despite the fact that it has been a fully. There is no consensus among proponents of changing the flag as to which design should replace the flag. One of he designs kept the red and darker blue of the current new zealand flag, and that one seemed a lot nicer the black was gone, replaced with. I do think it is time we put a symbol on the flagpole that speaks more of the country we are. Calls for a new flag nzhistory, new zealand history online.
New zealand flag referendums act 2015 no 66 as at 31 march. Hey, and guess what, this time it is not about the all blacks rugby team or the lord of the rings movies. Mar 24, 2016 new zealand flag vote as it happened ten months and tens of million dollars later, the existing flag has won an historic referendum with more than 56% of the vote updated. Two new zealand flag referendums were held by the new zealand government in novemberdecember 2015 and march 2016 and resulted in the retention of the current flag of new zealand. Why did new zealanders vote to keep the current flag.
You can only vote if your enrolment details are up to date. As voting papers are dispatched for the final flag referendum, views on whether to. Mar 02, 2016 voting begins in final new zealand flag referendum. Despite criticism of the cost of the vote and the process, he argued that it had at least generated discussion. Letters or designs shouldnt be added to the flag, unless they appear in a different dimension and are clearly separate from the flags. Final four designs chosen before national vote the final four designs for a new new zealand flag, silver fern black and white, silver fern red, white and blue, koru. Its compulsory to be enrolled if you qualify but voting is optional. Nov 19, 2015 new zealand flag referendum gets under way. The second flag referendum will be held in march this year. Furthermore, any change to rid ourselves of british imperial symbols needs to be part of a far deeper restructuring. Sep 01, 2015 whichever flag wins will go up against the current flag in a second vote in march to decide if new zealand gets a new flag. New zealand begins final vote on flag change news al. Nearly 600 entries in the flag competition were narrowed down to seven finalists, including the current new zealand flag and the united tribes flag. When key first raised the idea of a flag vote in march, he said he favoured changing the design to a silver fern set against a black background, an image thats popular among new zealands sports.
Why im not voting in the flag referendum the daily blog. New zealand starts voting in flag referendum telegraph. The united tribes later made the declaration of independence of new zealand at waitangi in 1835. We needed a far more indepth discussion about the meaning and relevance of our current flag. Kyle lockwoods blue and black silver fern flag has the most. To be fair though, most flags of the world do not immediately say i am the flag of bahamas, bahrain, benin, bhutan or botswana. You may well have heard about the laser kiwi design, or possibly. New zealand first leader winston peters cast a protest vote by writing.