Press

ACLAND TO SUPPORT NEW FLAG DEBATE

05 August 2004

BY CLAIRE HAREN

Mount Peel farmer, company director and trustee John Acland has joined a growing list of New Zealanders supporting the debate about changing New Zealand's flag.
Mr Acland, made a companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in this year's New Year's Honours List, said he had been approached by members of the NZFlag.com Trust to join the list of leaders putting their names behind the debate.

"I guess they got hold of me because I had been chairman of Meat New Zealand and one or two other national-type jobs."

Mr Acland served on Meat New Zealand from 1991 to 2002 and was chairman from 1997 onwards. When he retired from Meat New Zealand he was made chairman of the Land Access Ministerial Reference Group, and was recently appointed to the New Zealand Historic Places trust Board.

Mr Acland said he hadn't thought a great deal about the debate before being approached, but had been interested, so decided he would support the concept.

The www.NZFlag.com Trust, established in April, seeks to gather around 300,000 signatures early next year to hold a referendum asking New Zealanders to have their say on whether New Zealand should change its flag.

Mr Acland said he wasn't necessarily supporting the proposed design – which shows a stylised silver fern on a black background – but rather the need for debate.

"I would have thought that we need to agree first whether the people of New Zealand want a new flag, then have a competition or whatever about what sort of design we have.

"But I think we want a flag that spells out the uniqueness of New Zealand. I look at the new South African flag and think it embraces South Africa. I quite like our flag, but I never know whether it's the Australian or the New Zealand one – I don't count the stars on it. I think we need something that represents us as New Zealand."

Mr Acland said that while he was still pretty attached to England, he felt New Zealand was now mature enough to stand on its own feet.

He said when he travelled overseas as chairman of the meat board, the most noticeable thing in the supermarkets was the meat board-designed rosette on meat, and that was something the world knew as New Zealand.

"I think it's our time in history to have a hard look at it. I think it's a good issue to have a good debate about and let the country make up its mind whether they want it or not."