19 January 2005
Does New Zealand need a new flag?
A large number if Kiwis seem to think so. They include Olympic gold medallist Barbara Kendall, world champion squash Danme Susan Devoy, musician Neil Finn, businessman Stephen Tindall, and Richard Taylor of Weta Workshops.
A raft of ideas for a new flag are floating around, the most popular being the silver fern. Howeveer, the argument against this is that it is largely associated with the All Blacks, and New Zealand is not just a rugby team.
Older Kiwis, British patriots and Kiwi war veterans are the most likely people to oppose a flag replacement. Opponents must remember that Kiwis old and young have not forgotten those wo died or laid their lives on the line for this country. the crowds at Anzac Day commemorations are testimony to this. Today's school students can tell you more about what happened at Gallipoli than their parents. That is positive progress, but does the flag mean much to today's youth? Do they even know what it looks like, and what it represents?
Aside from bring too similar to the Australian flag our ties with Britain are loosening. This is also progress. If a new flag better represents Kiwis and the way they feel about this country, it can only add to our sense of national pride.
But perhaps we need to look to history of our "new" flag. Our cover story reveals that the original New Zealand flag, authorised by Maori and European, was intended to unify all New Zealanders as one people.
We could all do with some of that.
Hamilton Press
Copyright © 2005, APN Holdings NZ Ltd