The Flag Consideration Panel has published an infographic of the two flags, an extract of this graphic, and the infographic text, is below. This flag is a white fern frond that sweeps up diagonally from the bottom left corner to the right of the top centre. The left side of the fern is sitting on a black background. To the right of the fern there are four stars in the formation of the Southern Cross constellation, sitting on a blue background. Each star is red with a white border, and has five points. The black has become recognised as a national colour and is associated with our many achievements internationally. The silver fern has been part of our history and identity for many years and is an internationally recognised symbol of New Zealand. The fronds represent our diverse communities coming together. The blue represents our clear skies and the Pacific Ocean. The Southern Cross emphasises our location in the South Pacific Ocean. It connects with the colours in the Union Jack and the current flag. Throughout this process, thousands of New Zealanders shared their opinions. The most commonly expressed views are summarised below to help voters consider the options and make an informed decision. It is a uniquely New Zealand flag that will not be confused with Australia. Image: The Australian Flag alongside the Silver Fern Flag. New Zealand is a proud, independent country. We are no longer a British colony, so we shouldn’t have another country’s flag on our flag. All New Zealanders having a say in this decision honours the rights and freedoms that have been fought for. New Zealand has changed significantly, we are far more aware of our bicultural origins and have become a multicultural society. We’ll remain part of the Commonwealth. Of 53 Commonwealth countries, only four still have the Union Jack as part of their flag. Image: The Canadian Flag. The full graphic, and other information on the upcoming flag referendum can be downloaded here
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A RadioLive poll of over 2700 people asked What flag will you vote for?, 52% or 1419 people responded with the Fern. Read more below: http://www.radiolive.co.nz/DUNCAN-GARNER-POLL-What-flag-will-you-vote-for/tabid/615/articleID/111632/Default.aspx
silverfernflag.org
Silver Fern Flag by Kyle Lockwood will go up against the current flag in a referendum next year.
GRANT MILLER OPINION: When Prime Minister John Key started pushing for New Zealand's flag to change, there was little enthusiasm for the idea. Low voter turnout and some degree of unhappiness about the options suggest most of the public are still not quite with the prime minister. The first referendum result is far from a disaster for Key, however. The turnout is high enough and percentage of spoilt ballots low enough for him to be heartened. The process has been designed to bring people on board, and we shall see in March the extent to which this has been successful. A vocal minority has been scornful and sarcastic, and this could result in more votes for the current flag, but the mood of middle New Zealand will determine the result. With the current flag sidelined from the first referendum, the debate has had a phony-war type feel to it, but the phony war is over. It's Kyle Lockwood's black, blue and silver fern design with the stars of the Southern Cross versus the Blue Ensign and Southern Cross, our current flag. Of the alternative designs that made the shortlist, New Zealanders have picked the one with the best chance of toppling the current flag. It's appropriate that the design should have black on it. Black is not just synonomous with our rugby team, but also netball, hockey and our Olympics and Commonwealth Games athletes. The silver fern, too, is the symbol most associated with New Zealand, adding a link to our much-celebrated beautiful countryside. The other Lockwood flag, with its dash of red, was a bit too garish to win. The other silver fern design was, perhaps, too plain, and the koru design was never going to attract enough support. There was little about Red Peak that evoked a sense of New Zealand. And it is this capturing a sense of New Zealand that has been much in the thinking of the Flag Consideration Panel. The winning Lockwood design does this better than the current flag but whether this will be enough to switch is obviously moot. The RSA will be among those arguing the case for change has been less than compelling. There's the likely framing of the debate – a flag that better captures New Zealand against scepticism about the need for a change. The real debate starts now. - Stuff http://i.stuff.co.nz/manawatu-standard/opinion/75048642/Editorial-New-Zealanders-choose-flag-with-best-chance-of-toppling-Blue-Ensign (Picture - 3 News, Sir Peter Snell with his favourite design)
We've been asked "Why is the fern white and not silver?" Quite simply, in heraldry and vexillology, white is used to depict silver on a flag. Yellow is used to depict gold in the same fashion. White and yellow are 'metals' and are used to separate colours on a flag. Thought our history the silver fern has been depicted in white, besides, light grey would quickly fade to white when used on a flag. silverfernflag.org NATIONAL PORTRAITLockwood, with the winning flag flying at his grandmother Kathy's Breaker Bay home. Photo: DAVID WHITE/FAIRFAX NZ K Y L E L O C K W O O D The road to Kyle Lockwood's grandma's house is lined with flagpoles. There's a Merry Christmas flag, a Welsh Dragon, a skull and crossbones and a Union Jack. Where once flew Red Peaks, two poles stand empty. There must be more flagstaffs per person in Wellington's Breaker Bay than almost anywhere in the country. Where else, then, would the designer of New Zealand's alternative ensign have spent a good part of his childhood? At Kathy Lockwood's house overlooking Cook Strait, her grandson's black and blue referendum-winner flickers in the southerly breeze. Kathy won't lie though - she likes the red one better. Lockwood himself won't reveal which of his two final-five designs he ranked first. He's an old-fashioned kind of guy, he says. Not the kind to vote and tell. Even grandma doesn't know. It's been a hell of a year for the 38-year-old Melbourne-based architectural designer, since two of his fern and stars designs were selected as finalists in September, for the first stage of the flag referendum. What's lesser known is that the good news actually started months earlier, in May, when the government announced a return to 10-year passports. Lockwood had spearheaded that campaign, organising a petition of almost 16,000 signatures. Does he have the Prime Minister on speed dial, then? Never met him, never spoken to him directly, Lockwood clarifies. Back home for Christmas with the family, the quiet achiever has been thrust suddenly into the national media spotlight. At breakfast at a Wellington cafe there was staring and whispering. He fidgets and is uncomfortable discussing family. It is, he admits, all a bit odd. He's a fast learner, though. Jaded from waking at 4am for a breakfast television interview he still remembered a lint roller, to remove the caramel hair from Kathy's papillon dog that's now coating his suit jacket. Underwater hockey, rather than the mighty All Blacks, got Lockwood hooked on the silver fern. His Dad represented New Zealand, sporting the frond on his tracksuit. His parents separated when he was small so Lockwood split his time between mother Barbara, father Simon and Kathy. On holidays, he would draw ships and planes as they passed Kathy's window. He was good at tech drawing and topped woodwork at Rongotai College, but drifted after school. A short army stint cemented his fern affection. He pulls out his beret and touches the gold fern badge that dates back to the Boer War. "I was actually more proud of that than I was of the flag flying over the parade grounds." It wasn't until 2000, though, that Lockwood drew the prototype of his winning design. By then he was studying architecture technology at Massey University, after four years' processing building consents for Wellington City Council. The lecturer was discussing attaching flagpoles to buildings and Lockwood doodled a flag to go on top. "I thought - I don't know if I want to put a Union Jack up there. I just started sketching the silver fern with the Southern Cross. I sketched it and put it away in my books and it sat there for a good three or four years." While he rejected the Union Jack, he's not a Republican. He also has a personal connection to the existing flag - Kathy and his late grandfather Walter served under it. Both Brits, the couple met in the Royal New Zealand Air Force. Walter had also fought under the British flag, but to Lockwood's surprise he still favoured his grandson's Union Jack-free replacement. "Initially I was quite scared as to what his reaction might be, because he was a sergeant in the RAF in the jungles of Burma. But he took one look at it and said 'That's it' in his very broad Yorkshire accent." Lockwood dredged the design out again in 2004, for a Hutt News flag competition. His ensign won and got on Campbell Live and momentum has built ever since. Lockwood had just got off the train from work when he heard his flag had won the referendum run-off. He was speechless. Kathy cried. He celebrated with bubbly but the rest is a blur. He reckons the race against the existing flag will be close, as Kiwis see them flying together and decide what better represents them in the 21st Century. His dream is to see his flag run up the pole at the Olympics. It hasn't all been dreamy, though. There have been critics aplenty, of the process and outcome. Lockwood avoids social media. To those who ask why we should accept a badge of identity designed by someone who doesn't live here, he says he's still a Kiwi through and through. He moved to Melbourne about seven years ago to work at Fender Katsalidis Architects, who design sustainable, modular commercial and residential buildings. He still has New Zealand citizenship, but hasn't yet got that 10-year passport. Lockwood thinks the process was sound and the public made a good decision. "Well you would, wouldn't you," Kathy laughs. - Fairfax 19 December 2015 Over 4500 people were asked "Which flag do you prefer?" and 52% voted for the Silver Fern Flag.
You can read more, and vote here. silverfernflag.org "What I find remarkable is the sense that as soon as the referendum result was in, something changed."
Until last weekend I wouldn't have said this, but I think we're going to change the flag. Furthermore, I don't think that is a remarkable statement, which it would have been until last weekend. Even John Key knew he was losing this one. What I find remarkable is the sense that as soon as the referendum result was in, something changed. We had chosen a flag. No one I know is especially excited about it but all seem suddenly satisfied. It feels like we have discussed the subject enough and come to a decision. In my case, it is not the decision I was going to make. When the voting papers arrived I was still of a mind to ignore them. Key had gone about the exercise completely the wrong way, to my mind. It had ended in an offering of amateur designs selected by a panel of amateurs. Then there was Red Peak, which wasn't a flag. Nice abstract art but not a flag. It was Red Peak that made me vote. I had believed social media to be a serious reflection of public opinion. I had to do what I could. So I looked hard at the two Lockwoods. The red was more striking but the black more distinctive. It said All Blacks in place of the Union Jack. I could settle for that. But while voting I still thought I would stick with the current flag when it came to the second referendum. Not now. There is a certain satisfaction in picking the winner but it wasn't just that. When the chosen alternative was pictured in the paper alongside the present flag, the new one simply looked so much better. Having come this far and made a choice, it would feel like a backward step to vote for the status quo and I get a sense this is now the way most people are thinking. Diehard opponents of change sense it too. Their letters in the Herald used to have a complacent tone, now they sound desperate and some are turning nasty. Glen Stanton of Mairangi Bay said the new flag he had flying at his home was vandalised this week. Kent Millar of Blockhouse Bay said he wasn't surprised. "Any new national flag will be burned and torn up by the very citizens it is supposed to represent." The diehards will say people like me have been cunningly manipulated by the design of the referendums. "It was Red Peak that made me vote. I had believed social media to be a serious reflection of public opinion. I had to do what I could." Denied a vote for the status quo in the first round, we were obliged to choose an alternative and that very act of making a decision has changed our minds. I think they are right and they can call it manipulation if they wish, but to me it feels like we have made the kind of decision people normally make around a table where different views are given a good airing and the reasonable modify their thinking to produce a collective decision. Democracy is not normally like this. In the lead-up to elections, we do not really have a discussion. Parties take positions they fiercely defend through the campaign and on voting day most of us do what we were going to do before the "debate" began. Parties' campaigns are primarily designed to reinforce our allegiances rather than change our minds. The reason the flag referendum result feels different may lie in the system of voting it used. We do not do much preferential voting, at least at a national level. The counting of second preferences makes an election more like a decision around a table. If the range of views at the table is so diverse that no one view has a majority, the council or board does not settle for the one that wins a headcount, it continues talking until enough of those present come around to a single view. For some it will be second-best. In my case, the conclusion reached by a majority in a referendum with a 48 per cent turnout, twice as high as I expected, has caused me to rethink my approach to this decision. I realise now I have been hoping for too much. I didn't want to change the flag until somebody came up with an inspired design that had just about all of us saying, "Wow, that is us". I had found one that did that for me, and for some others when I published it. But clearly not enough others. Few national flags probably had the wow-factor when first conceived. We need a new flag, the old one looks even more dated now than it did last week. It is recognisably us. It will do fine. John Roughan - New Zealand Herald
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. silverfernflag.org
It is said that a rumour can travel half-way around the world whilst the truth is still getting its pants on – The same can be said about rumours flying about this week that one of our silver fern flag designs supposedly being withdrawn at the request of the designer.
This from the New Zealand Government; “...To confirm, no design can be withdrawn from the first referendum by anyone other than the Crown (who is also the copyright holder of the designs throughout the two referendum process - see below). The four alternative flag designs selected by the Flag Consideration Panel for the first referendum are protected by copyright. In accordance with the Flag Design Terms and Conditions, the copyright in the flag designs is owned by the Crown during the referendum process, and following that process if a new flag is chosen. After the first and second referendums, copyright in any unsuccessful flag designs will be assigned back to the designers as appropriate. Once copyright has been assigned back to the designers, any use of those flag designs will require permission from the designers or any other owner of copyright in those flag designs (unless the use is otherwise permitted under the Copyright Act 1994).” silverfernflag.org 17 Sept 2015
An update on flag orders (for those who have ordered flags on and after 2 Sept 2015) Firstly, I would like to thank you for your patience, these past few weeks since the governments announcement of two of our designs in the first flag referendum we have received an unprecedented amount of orders and for a small voluntary organisation such as silverfernflag.org, it has definitely caught us off guard, however a huge shipment of brand new stock is due to arrive from our manufacturers on Friday, September 25th, it will be enough to fill our backlog of orders and we will be spending the entire weekend of the 26-27th packing your flag orders. We send all flags via airmail from Melbourne where I am based for work, although most orders are generally arriving in New Zealand within 3-5 days Australia post advise a 10 working day delivery period. Again I would like to thank you for your patience as we work through our unprecedented influx of flag orders. Kind regards Kyle Lockwood Designer silverfernflag.org
Three of the four designs feature the silver fern, including two by Lockwood.
The silver fern is Prime Minister John Key's favourite symbol and All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has also spoken out in favour of the silver fern. The panel released a long list of 40 flags in August for public feedback. The public will rank the four designs in order of preference in the first referendum in November. A second referendum next March will pit the preferred alternative against the current flag. The shortlist comes as a Herald Digipoll survey shows almost half of voters were open to a change of flag, although 24 per cent said it would depend on the alternative.
Flag Minister Bill English said there had been much debate about the level of engagement in the flag after low turnout to public meetings but he believed most of it was driven by social media.
He said the panel had been independent and the flag designs shortlisted were confirmed by Cabinet on Monday. He said it was now up to voters to make the final decision on the future flag. The most popular flag will be pitted against the current flag, which was introduced to New Zealand in 1902, in a 2016 referendum. "The silver fern is what it means to be a Kiwi and wearing the black jersey, so I am obviously biased in that regard," Richie McCaw told 3News. Photo / Getty Images "The silver fern is what it means to be a Kiwi and wearing the black jersey, so I am obviously biased in that regard," Richie McCaw told 3News. Photo / Getty Images All Black captain Richie McCaw has also revealed he wants a change to a design with the silver fern. "I think it's great that there is a debate about it. The silver fern is what it means to be a Kiwi and wearing the black jersey, so I am obviously biased in that regard," McCaw told 3News. Flag Consideration Project head Professor John Burrows said the new flag had to be unmistakably from New Zealand. "It is important that those designs are timeless, can work in a variety of contexts, are simple, uncluttered, balanced and have good contrast," he said. He defended the inclusion of three silver fern designs in the shortlisted final four saying the panel could have taken the easy approach of having four different symbols, such as a silver fern, a Southern Cross a, a koru and an abstract design but opted to chose based on the strongest design. The two referendum votes and consultation are budgeted to cost $26 million - with Labour objecting to the cost, saying it is a "vanity project". Once an alternative flag is chosen, it will then go up against the current flag in a second referendum in March. Meanwhile, it has been revealed that one of the flags on the long-list was removed for consideration after a copyright claim. The Hundertwasser Non-Profit Foundation objected to the "Modern Hundertwasser" design, named after artist and architect Friedensreich Hundertwasser. The Herald-DigiPoll survey of 750 eligible voters was conducted between August 14 and 24, and has a margin of error of plus or minus 3.6 per cent. Women were more likely to be against change - with 61 per cent wanting to keep the current flag, compared to 44 per cent of men. He also said while the two Kyle Lockwood designs were similar, they looked quite different when flying and meant different things to different people so the panel had seen them as very distinct flags. He urged New Zealanders to vote for their favourites regardless of whether they supported change or not. Referendum 'not deliberately timed around Rugby World Cup' Prime Minister John Key says the first referendum on the flag was not deliberately timed to coincide with the Rugby World Cup in a bid to boost the chances of a silver fern making it through. Mr Key said the two Kyle Lockwood designs of the four flags in the shortlist were his favourites for a new flag but if New Zealanders voted to keep the current flag he would still wave it with pride. Mr Key's initial preference was for a simple silver fern on a black background, such as that on the All Black's jerseys. All Blacks captain Richie McCaw has also spoken in favour of a silver fern design. Mr Key said typically the silver fern was flown a lot during the world cup. "But it wasn't brilliantly timed round that. It just happened to be the way the process worked." The plain black with a silver fern was not on the shortlist released yesterday despite many expecting it to be. "I'm actually fine with that. If you'd asked me a year or so ago I started life thinking that might be a good place to start and now I've actually moved on in my thinking." Mr Key went cold on that idea for a flag after it was mocked for being similar to the Islamic State flag and was happy with the shortlisted four although Cabinet could have refused to accept them if it wished. His preferences were the two by Kyle Lockwood because they contained the fern which had long been a symbol of New Zealand worn by sports teams and marking the graves of soldiers overseas. "I like the Southern Cross because I think it's got that connection with the old flag." Mr Key said he was not worried that having three silver ferns would split the vote and bring the koru through the middle. While support for the silver fern from the likes of Richie McCaw was "not unhelpful." "But in the end, Richie is only one voice." Other sports people including rowers Mahe Drysdale and Hamish Bond had also spoken in favour of change. Mr Key expected more high profile people from other walks of life to start speaking out. He said it would have economic benefits to New Zealand through branding and the silver fern was already closely associated with New Zealand internationally. The koru was his least preferred option. He said it was up to New Zealanders to make the choice now and whatever the result he believed the discussion it was prompting on national identity was important. "I do think it's the right time in the country to take stock and say should we do that?' I'm not saying it's the biggest issue there is, but we are an incredibly proud nation and we don't use our current flag to really demonstrate that much." The designers KYLE LOCKWOOD: Architectural designer Kyle Lockwood says he was surprised to get two designs in the shortlisted four but was diplomatic about his chances of having the winning design, saying it was for the public to decide. Mr Lockwood, 38, had two flags featuring the same design but with different colour schemes selected among the four that voters will vote on in the referendum in November. They feature the silver fern as well as the Southern Cross and his designs are already strong front runners in online polls. He said he had hoped one of his flags would make the shortlist and the two selected were his favourites of his designs. "I thought one would make it, but to have two - I'm actually very pleased." Mr Lockwood has long advocated a flag change. His flags have an early advantage because they are already well known - he designed the original Silver Fern in red white and blue back in 2004 when there was a push by the late Lloyd Morrison to force a referendum on the flag. He said New Zealand was a humble nation which did not like talking about itself. "When designing a flag you have to put all that behind you and say, okay, what will make the world recognise us, what will make Kiwis proud to carry it and what will bring a tear to your eye when you see it on the podium?" He said he would campaign in support of his flags but had only a limited budget and much of it would be online. Mr Lockwood is from Wellington but now lives in Melbourne. His grandmother flies his red, white and blue flag at her house. While he didn't have a flagpole himself "I might have to get one now." He may even need two. ALOFI KANTER: Auckland father Alofi Kanter is a flight attendant and says while he has no professional art or design training, he was passionate about the flag design process and heritage. "I wanted to make my contribution." Born in Europe, Mr Kanter spent ten years in Samoa in his youth. He was dubbed Alofi and has kept the name ever since. The 51-year-old moved to New Zealand more than 20 years ago and lives with his family on the North Shore. Mr Kanter said black and white were the de facto national colours of New Zealand and he believed that should be recognised in the flag. "I didn't want it to overbearingly black because of some connections some people make. So I tried to balance it and have equal amounts of black and white." The silver fern on a plain black background has previously been compared to the Islamic State and pirate skull and crossbones flags. A similar flag design to Mr Kanter's is licensed by the NZ Story Group and the trademark was owned by New Zealand Way. Professor John Burrows said it had agreed to support the use of the design on the flag if Mr Kanter's design was chosen in the referendum. ANDREW FYFE: The freelance graphic designer and photographer has the only shortlisted flag which does not feature the silver fern, sporting a koru instead. Mr Fyfe, who lives in Wellington, said he loved Maori design. "We are a multicultural society and Maori design has sort of crossed cultures and become part of New Zealanders' visual identity. So I think it's quite important we have some of that symbolism in our flag." He had no concerns about the flag featuring black. "Black is very strong and striking. The contrast and how it will appear next to other country's flags - it stands out. White and black could not be more contrasting." He said he was surprised to make it onto the long-list, let alone the short list. "It's a little bit like winning the lottery. No-one really expects that." Mr Fyfe entered his koru flag in four different colour combinations including blue, green and a dual green option. Fyfe was born in Thames and raised in Tauranga - and has a claim to fame as the great, great, great nephew of Kate Sheppard. His interest in the flag was sparked when travelling around Europe with his now wife 17 years ago. - NZ Herald http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11505765 There have been reports circulating that the designer of the silver fern flag, Kyle Lockwood, is an architect, this is to clarify that in a New Zealand context, Kyle Lockwood is an architectural designer, and in an Australian context, Kyle Lockwood is a building designer.
ENDS silverfernflag.org A black, white and blue flag design featuring the silver fern is the frontrunner for an alternative New Zealand flag in a Herald poll.
The flag, designed by Kyle Lockwood (Number 5), has been chosen by 18 per cent of around 3000 voters in the unscientific online survey. The same flag design with different colours (6), also by Mr Lockwood, has picked up 15 per cent of the vote. Those two flags are by far the most popular out of the 40 designs selected by a panel from more than 10,000 submissions. The panel is tasked with whittling down the shortlist to four designs for the first referendum in November and December. The highest polling flag that did not follow Mr Lockwood's design is the "Black Jack" (25), which includes a Union Jack made out of koru designs and has received 5 per cent of the vote. Prime Minister John Key originally supported the silver fern with a black background, but changed his mind when it was compared to the Islamic State's flag. He said today he preferred Mr Lockwood's red, white and blue design (5). Labour leader Andrew Little said he had a brief glance at the shortlist but has not picked a favourite. He did not plan to vote in the referendum because he felt it was not the time for Government to be spending $26 million on a flag. Some of New Zealand's most distinguished individuals also favoured a national flag with a silver fern. Dame Catherine Tizard, a member of the Order of New Zealand, said her choice would be either of the two flags with a silver fern on a black background (9 and 11). "Foreigners will think it's a white feather but oh well," she said. "The silver fern does pick up some tradition."Another Order of New Zealand member, scientist Sir Peter Gluckman, said he liked the "Silver Fern (White, Black and Red)" design (8). "That appeals to me very much as being a good flag for New Zealand. I certainly think it is far superior to the current flag." He also liked the koru designs, in particular the "Unity Koru" (21). The legislation which paved the way for the flag referendum returned to Parliament this afternoon. During the often-heated debate, National MPs singled out the Labour Party for changing its position and opposing a flag referendum. "Only nine months [ago] they campaigned at the election saying they wanted to change the flag," Housing Minister Nick Smith said. "And then they come to this House and say we should never change the flag. There is a simple message - they lack integrity, they are untrustworthy, they are duplicitous." Labour MP Iain Lees-Galloway defended his party's change of heart, saying public opinion had turned against the referenda because of their high cost at a time when the economy was beginning to wobble. New Zealand First MP Denis O'Rourke took a shot at the shortlisted designs, saying they were "gaudy", "rubbish" and not fit to replace the current flag. After the alternative design is chosen, voters will be asked to vote between the winning design and the existing national flag in March. http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11495552 This Aug. 11, 2015, image released by the New Zealand Flag Consideration Project shows 40 designs being considered as the new flag for New Zealand in Wellington, New Zealand. New Zealand is considering changing its flag. The public was encouraged to come up with ideas, and submitted over 10,000 designs. A government-appointed panel has winnowed those down to 40 finalists. (New Zealand Flag Consideration Project via AP) (Associated Press)
By Nick Perry | AP August 12 at 3:21 AM WELLINGTON, New Zealand — New Zealand is considering changing its flag. The public was encouraged to come up with ideas, and submitted more than 10,000 designs. A government-appointed panel has winnowed those down to 40 finalists. A look at the flag flap: ___ WHY CHANGE? Many in New Zealand consider the current flag to be outdated and too similar to Australia’s flag. It depicts Britain’s Union Jack in the top left corner, which harks back to a colonial past that many New Zealanders are eager to put behind them. New Zealand sometimes comes under the shadow of Australia, its larger neighbor, and having flags that are almost identical only compounds that problem. However, there are plenty of New Zealanders who want to keep their current flag. Many veterans fought under the flag and feel a special bond to it. Others simply don’t see any need for a change, or view the process as an expensive stunt initiated by Prime Minister John Key to distract from more pressing issues. ___ THE DESIGNS Almost all of the 40 finalists feature one of three design elements, or a combination of them: the koru, the silver fern and the Southern Cross. The koru is a spiral symbol that was often used in indigenous Maori art. It depicts an unfurling fern frond. It also has metaphorical meanings, suggesting perpetual movement and the circular nature of life. It is featured on many things, from tattoo designs to Air New Zealand’s logo. The silver fern is the koru unfurled. Native ferns are found throughout New Zealand forests and the silver fern is noted for its striking appearance. Even more than the koru, the silver fern has become a national symbol, and is worn by many of the country’s sports teams, including the beloved All Blacks rugby team. The Southern Cross is a distinctive star constellation visible from the Southern Hemisphere. Unlike the koru and silver fern, the Southern Cross is featured on the current flag. ___ THE SELECTION In choosing the finalists, the government panel said in an open letter that it kept the following in mind: “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.” The panel said that in reviewing the designs it was guided by what thousands of New Zealanders said they thought was special about their country. The panel also consulted Maori cultural experts, as well as flag and design experts. ___ THE CRITICISM Some people are concerned the 40 designs are too similar and not artistically ambitious enough. Others worry they look too much like corporate logos, are too complicated or don’t tell a strong enough story. A humorous column in The Sydney Morning Herald was titled “New Zealand has 40 ideas for a new flag — and they’re awful.” Journalist Michael Koziol posed the question: “Is there a worse act of collective torture than a nation changing its flag? It takes forever, you have to consult everyone under the sun, and nobody can agree on anything anyway.” Many New Zealanders have also criticized the cost of the process to taxpayers: 26 million New Zealand dollars ($17 million). ___ WHAT’S NEXT? The Flag Consideration Panel will choose four final flag designs by mid-September. New Zealanders will then vote for their favorite among those in a November referendum. But even then, changing the flag is by no means a certainty. After a favorite alternative flag is chosen, it will be pitted head-to-head with the current flag in a second referendum, to be held next March. Only then will New Zealanders decide whether they’ll get a new flag. https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/a-new-flag-new-zealand-picks-40-best-from-10000-designs/2015/08/12/bb1a33da-40c2-11e5-b2c4-af4c6183b8b4_story.html A government panel has whittled 10,292 proposals down to 40 designs
New Zealand is a step closer to getting a new flag, after an independent panel sifted through more than 10,000 submitted designs to emerge with 40 finalists. The country is in the process of nominating a new design to replace their current flag, which is based partly on the United Kingdom’s Union Jack. The panel’s next step, according to the Guardian, is to further reduce those proposals down to four nominees that the public will vote on later this year. The winner of that vote will compete with the current standard in another national referendum. All design descriptions in this gallery are from the New Zealand government’s official website. http://time.com/3990784/new-zealand-flag-designs/ August 11, 2015 - 9:52AM Hamish Rutherford SYDNEY The process to choose what could be New Zealand's new flag has narrowed to 40 options. On Monday afternoon the Flag Consideration Panel released a "long list" of 40 designs, chosen from more than 10,000 options submitted by the public. The list is dominated by designs prominently featuring ferns, koru and stars. It does not include some of the more humorous designs, such as the kiwi farting a rainbow or flags referencing blowing on pies. Chairman John Burrows said he and his colleagues had investigated every submission, but the 40 selected designs had been chosen unanimously. "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," Burrows said in a statement. "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." The chosen 40 will now be subject to further scrutiny, including whether any breach intellectual property law. In mid-September the panel is expected to announce four of them to be subject to a national referendum. The most popular design will then go head-to-head with the current flag in another referendum in March 2016. Prime Minister John Key favours changing the flag, claiming the existing design is often mistaken for Australia's. Although the cost of deciding whether to change the flag - up to $26 million - has come under fire, Key claimed recently that a new design would be "worth billions" to New Zealand. "How much is it worth ultimately if we change our flag and people recognise and buy our products? Basically in the end it's gonna be worth billions over time, Key told More FM on August 6. Five of the flags shortlisted are supported by the 'Silver Fern Flag' group, which favours an image of the distinctive flora on the ensign.
"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 group's spokesman Kyle Lockwood said. "The silver fern is on our army and navy logos, our firefighter, police and sportspersons uniforms, it's on our money, it's on our passports, it's on our national airliners, and soon our fern will be on New Zealand rockets sending satellites into space, it's our national symbol and it's time we put it on our flag." stuff.co.nz http://www.smh.com.au/world/new-zealand-releases-40-options-for-new-flag-20150810-giw7ez.html#ixzz3iVGvZaJ4 New Zealand has released a longlist of 40 designs for a new flag and appears destined to dispense with the Union Jack, which appears on only one option. An independent panel received 10,292 public submissions for a new design and has reduced the entries to 40 “timeless” options, dispensing with quirkier proposals such as a QR code and a kiwi shooting a laser beam from its eyes. • New Zealand's new flag: Some of the weird and wonderful designs, in pictures "Our hope is that New Zealanders will see themselves reflected in these flags' symbols, colour and stories,” said the twelve-person panel in an open letter to the New Zealand public. “A great flag should be distinctive and so simple it can be drawn by a child from memory … 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." The panel said it will now consult with experts on culture, art, design and vexillology, or the study of flags, and will ensure the 40 designs comply with intellectual property laws before announcing a shortlist of four in September. Silver Fern (Red, White & Blue) by Kyle Lockwood Photo: New Zealand Government
A referendum will be held in November or December to decide on a preferred option. A second referendum will then be held next March to decide between the preferred option and the current flag. John Key, New Zealand’s prime minister, is a staunch monarchist but led a push for a new flag, saying the current design was dominated by the Union Jack even though the former British colony was “no longer dominated by Britain”. He has indicated his preference for a design featuring a silver fern. Many of the forty proposed options included silver ferns, the Southern Cross, or the koru, a spiral shape commonly found in Maori art and carvings. Only one design, titled “Black Jack”, featured a version of the Union Jack. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/newzealand/11794018/New-Zealand-releases-40-options-for-new-flag-only-one-features-the-Union-Jack.html |
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