23 July 2005
They've battled apathy. They've attracted celebrities and corporate clout and the wrath of opponents. Now the campaign to change New Zealand's flag has received a serious body blow. Sarah Boyd reports on a chequered campaign.
If you can describe the difference between the Australian and New Zealand flags off the top of your head, you're doing well. The Canadians got it wrong in the mid 80s, raising the New Zealand flag when Australian prime minister Bob Hawke was visiting.
For some, that similarity is a good enough reason for change. Others object to the colonial taint of the Union Jack. Former All Black captain Colin Meads, who has fronted the flag change campaign in recent weeks, reckons something fresh is needed: "I like the unity of patriotic support which South African flag has brought that country. I think New Zealand needs the same."
Opponents of a flag change decry such talk. For them the flag speaks of this country's history and identity and should not be touched.
A determined bid that began late last year to get enough signatures for a referendum on the issue is in the midst of a last push for names, ahead of an October deadline. But the chance of attaining the goal is slipping out of the grasp of the organisers.
They had been counting on the boost of a promised mailout of petition forms to 1.4 million households by Telecom. The plan had been for Telecom to include the forms in its monthly newsletter and NZ Post, a state-owned company, had agreed to pick up the tab for the forms to be posted back.
Telecom chief executive Theresa Gattung is a supporter of a flag change and has allowed comments and her photograph to be used on the campaign's website. However, after confirming to The Dominion Post last week that the mailout would go ahead, Telecom abruptly pulled the plug on the deal, saying it had received feedback from some customers and shareholders questioning the involvement.
It's a body blow to the flag-change campaign, which, despite generating considerable coverage and attracting weighty supporters, has struggled to get people willing to do the foot-work collecting signatures.
"I think they are pretty thin-skinned," the man who has driven the campaign from the start, Wellington businessman Lloyd Morrison, says of Telecom. "It is more than disappointing, it has left us high and dry. That was going to be our distribution network the campaign so desperately needs."
He thought the mailout was a perfect match for Telecom - a good example of a corporate acting as a responsible citizen and giving people access to involvement in an important debate. He thinks Telecom has heard from some people at the extreme end of opposition to the campaign and been scared off.
His frustration bristles down the phone from Scotland, where Infratil director has business. He's adamant the flag will change- and before too long - but he concedes it might not happen this time round. It's been a frustrating journey.
"To be truthful, I've been disappointed," he says. "The apathy that so often afflicts New Zealanders has been there."
Even before Telecom's decision, he was unsure if they would achieve the almost 300,000 signatures needed for a referendum. So far they have about 100,000. People are interested, but not passionate - they aren't willing to give up their weekends to sit outside a supermarket asking for signatures, and they won't seek out the petition unless it's put in front of them.
Initially, the campaign had hoped to get enough signatures by May this year to run a referendum at this year's election. It quickly became clear that was unrealistic. Now, the earliest a referendum could be held would be next year.
Mr Morrison's idea is that if a flag change gets the tick, then an independent body should be appointed to commission designs and choose between them. He'd then like to see the chosen design put up against the existing flag at a further referendum probably at he time of the next general election.
So, a long process, but one he thinks would be seen as rigorous and democratic.
The campaign kicked off with the trust putting up its own design - a stylised white fern on a black background created for Mr Morrison by Cameron Sanders. It was meant to provoke debate and it certainly didn't create a consensus.
"I don't like it and I have told Lloyd that," says artist Dick Frizzell, a longtime advocate of a flag change. "It's to blunt, too much like a sports logo."
He's also not sure it was a wise move strategically, as some people thought it was a campaign for that design.
Mr Morrison says that was never the case and now thinks there are too many competing designs being touted.
He looks nervously at the example of Canada, which ended up with thousands of flag ideas before it settled on the maple leaf to replace its former ensign with the Union Jack in the corner.
There have been bids before to change the flag, including a sustained pitch by former National MP Marie Hasler for the silver fern. Polling on people's views has given conflicting results- sometimes a majority appears in favour of change, sometimes against, and not by decisive margins.
A similai push has ben going on in Australia, where a lobby group has argued for change for at least 15 years. However, Mr Morriosn says the Australian case has been jhampered by being mixed in with the push for a republic, which it isn't here.
Veterans and service people are often staunch opponents of change. Defence chief Bruce Ferguson told the Returned Services Association conference in Wellington last week that the flag had proud history and he didn't want to see it changed.
Wellington freelance writer John McLean agrees and goes further, seeing the campaign for change as somewhat sinister. He reckons it's a move by a power elite to strip the country of yet another tradition, making people rootless and easier to control.
"The New Zealand flag, like those of our sister nations of Australia and Britain, is overflowing with symbolism, meaning, history and tradition - unlike Canada's emblem which sports a mere leaf and nothing else, "Mr McLean says. "The flag is probably our finest and most ancient treasure and for that reason it must be cherished and defended against all comers."
Mr Morrison says he understands the flag's importance to many people, but he says other symbols have deep significance. One World War II veteran told him the only time he saw a New Zealand flag was on the parade ground at home - overseas the silver fern emblem was used. The symbol of the kiwi is also frequently used by New Zealand soldiers and peacekeepers, particularly when serving alongside Australians.
Flags are commonly flown from houses in many countries, but here its use is generally military and ceremonial. The campaigners argue that's because the flag doesn't have a powerful emotional resonance for ordinary people.
Wellington man Maarten Wevers loves flags - his wife bought him a flagpole for his birthday - and he dips into a collection that has many associations for him, either from his heritage or places he's lived.
As head of the Prime Minister's Department, he won't be drawn on the debate. His enjoyment of flags is aesthetic. A keen gardener, he says having a flag flying above adds to the enjoyment - "it's colourful, it's always changing".
There are few rules about national flags - though the way they are used at sea is regulated. All are rectangular, except the flag of Nepal. Colour and symbols are important and often link countries, such as the Pan-Arab colours of red, white, black and green, or the frequent use of the crescent on the flags of Muslim nations.
In New Zealand, alternative designs have tended to draw on Maori and Pacific imagery. Many retain the stars of the Southern Cross, or use the koru and the silver fern. Even the kiwi makes an appearance.
Critics say the designs ignore the country's Anglo-Saxon and Celtic heritage, and many feel the silver fern is too associated with sport.
Mr Morrison reckons the debate is the important thing. He's pleased when he encounters opposition and stirs emotion. It's apathy he can't stand and which he fears will scupper the campaign this time. But its time will come.
The Dominion Post
(c) 2005 Fairfax New Zealand Limited