19 March 2005
By Blair Mayston
Campaigners battling to change New Zealand’s national flag were pounding the pavement in Dunedin yesterday, seeking support for their cause.
NZ Flag Trust national campaign manager Iona Pannett, of Wellington, was happy with the southern response.
"It's been really good...We've been really busy," she said after two hours collecting signatures on the street.
"Some people have disagreed with us and that’s their right. A lot of people didn’t know why we wanted to change it, so we talked through some of the reasons."
Ms Pannett said the trust believed New Zealand needed a flag which was uniquely its own.
"Our flag at the moment has the Union Jack in the top corner and the stars of the Southern Cross, which can be seen all over the Southern Hemisphere," she said.
There were also concerns about how representative the present flag was: "We live in a multicultural society, and many people think we need something that reflects our future."
The trust is not advocating a replacement flag, and would prefer that the public decide.
But the trust has received suggestions, some of which were shown on a placard Ms Pannett held as she roamed the streets.
She said the campaign to change the flag was non-profit, and was being funded by the trustees, donations and the sale of merchandise through the nzflag.com web site.
The campaign for change started in February last year, and Ms Pannett estimated 30,000-60,000 signatures had been collected.
The trust wants 300,000 signatures to force a referendum on whether the flag should change.
The design would be established by another referendum, she said.
The Otago Daily Times
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