Flagging it up

[Gob]

Auckland: The five contenders to be the next New Zealand flag have been hoisted and will flutter over Wellington for the next month so Kiwis can see the banner options in action before casting their vote.

[liberty]

They all look awful . Two look as if they were proposed by the
Communist Party of New Zealand. And the other two were designed by hippies on psychedelic dope. The fifth one is maybe ok if you get drunk first.

[BoSoxGal]

Gets, not get's


The lower one is too run-of-the-mill flag style, the ones with leaves too busy. I really like the black & white one for which I voted.

Can you provide some background for the various symbols/colors included in the five options?

[dales]

This is the only flag which gets my vote:



Any questions?

[Gob]

Here you go BSG.

[Gob]

Any questions?

Yes, why are you so parochial?

[BoSoxGal]

Here you go BSG.

Thanks, very interesting! Still like my choice after reading the descriptions, too.

I'm so not parochial that I've taken to reading the UK and Oz pages of Daily Mail's website - also trying to gain an advantage in the seven days quiz!

[Lord Jim]

I'm with lib; they all look godawful. (Really weak; they all seem to say: "Welcome To New Zealand; The Pussy Country")

They should stick with what they've got:





If somebody put a gun to my head and forced me to pick between those terrible designs, I guess I would pick the bottom right, just because it deviates the least from the original, and thus sucks marginally less than the others...

ETA:

Apparently the New Zealanders are not being forced to accept one of these hippy dippy third world options. They will be given the opportunity to exercise the good sense to retain the original:

Under the process set by the Government, New Zealanders can vote in a postal ballot in November to choose their most preferred design, and a second referendum in March 2016 would pit the winning design against the current flag.

The latest poll has 70% supporting keeping the flag as it is.

[MajGenl.Meade]

Right you are, LJ - my vote is "none of the above". Keep the grand old flag!

Gob - what get's my goat is the misuse of apostrophes. Except of course when its done on purpose just to be pissy.

[rubato]

As to whether they choose to ditch the current flag for a new one, aesthetic judgements aside, I think it would depend on how New Zealanders see themselves. If they want to emphasize their identity as an independent country they'll be more inclined to ditch the union jack. NZ seems to be the most desireable english speakng country to emigrate to from the US, after Canada. I hear more people talking about emigrating there than anywhere else. Great social cohesion and a much higher std of living than the US. Apparently they make it very easy if you have skills they need. Beautiful environment.


yrs,
rubato

[MajGenl.Meade]

It's a lovely country all right. Very popular with (white) South Africans (as are the UK and Australia). If forced to choose, I'd go for #4 the lower right, RW&B with the stupid fern on it

[Long Run]

fwiw, the silver fern leaf has been on their national team "all-black" uniforms for a long time:

[dales]

Any questions?

Yes, why are you so parochial?

Because I can.

[Guinevere]

And the winner (sorta) is:

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35059898

[Lord Jim]

But based on all the polling, the likely ultimate winner will still be:



The extremely poor turnout is also indicative of the lack of enthusiasm for a change:

About 48% of eligible voters took part in the first referendum

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-35059898

This whole thing is being fueled not by any popular demand, but apparently because the current New Zealand Prime Minister has some sort of burr up his ass about it...

[Lord Jim]

I particularly like the one in the upper right-hand corner...

It looks like the back end of a lower-order primate with a curled tail...

A baboon, perhaps...

"Welcome To New Zealand"...

"Where our national symbol looks like the back-end of a baboon's ass..."

Maybe it's just me, but I don't see that working...

[datsunaholic]

Me, I can't tell if the swirly thing is supposed to be a typhoon or a tsunami.

[Gob]

New Zealanders will be able to vote from Thursday in a final referendum on whether to change their current flag.

They have until 24 March to choose between the present design and an alternative decided in a previous vote.

The exercise has been controversial with many criticising the hefty price tag and shortlisted designs.

But Prime Minister John Key and others have argued the country needs a more distinctive flag, as the current one looks similar to Australia's.

The final referendum will be conducted as a postal vote.

[Lord Jim]

Two-thirds of Kiwis want to keep current New Zealand flag - poll

SAM SACHDEVA

Last updated 18:41, February 26 2016

Nearly two-thirds of Kiwis want to keep New Zealand's current flag and will vote against change, a new poll reveals.

The One News Colmar Brunton poll also shows that while 63 per cent want to keep the current flag, only 26 per cent - barely more than a quarter - favour the alternative Kyle Lockwood Silver Fern design.

Labour voters were strongly against a change, with 76 per cent planning to vote for the current flag.

Labour leader Andrew Little told One News that people did not like the new flag design, while Prime Minister John Key had failed to explain why the change was proposed.

"This isn't about standing on our own two feet. This looks like a pet project of John Key's people."

http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/politic ... flag--poll

The whole thing is very puzzling...

This is not being proposed by some Bolshie Anti-Monarchist sort...

Mr. Key is on the whole a sound fellow; he leads what would be considered the conservative party in New Zealand...

And there is no great clamour or popular groundswell for this change; quite the opposite... polls have consistently shown that New Zealanders are overwhelmingly opposed to changing the flag...(which will no doubt be borne out yet again in the coming vote)

Holding these votes have cost millions of dollars, and there's every indication that at the end of the day, it will have been for nothing...the status quo will be reaffirmed...

It seems that the only person in the whole country who really cares about this is the Prime Minister....

Which makes him look like a bit of a crank....

[Gob]

But at least he can say; "I gave you the chance to change the flag, and you didn't take it," should the republicans kick off again.

I'm a firm advocate of Australia adopting the Aboriginal flag instead of our current one.

This;



not