In a move that has vexed many of New Zealand’s vexillologists, the selection of the final four contenders in the country’s upcoming referendum on its national flag have been selected – to mostly negative responses.
After more than 10,000 public submissions – which reminded the world how light hearted our Kiwi friends can be – were received, a nationally mandated committee of 12 New Zealanders has whittled down the selection to just four flags:
Option 1: Silver Fern (Black & White) by Alofi Kanter
Option 2: Silver Fern (Red, White and Blue) by Kyle Lockwood
Option 3: Koru by Andrew Fyfe
Option 4: Silver Fern (Black, White and Blue) by Kyle Lockwood
The final four options, created by three different designers, contain imagery and colours that have long been associated with New Zealand; these include the fern frond, the Southern Cross, and the koru, a spiral symbol used in MÄori to represent renewal of life.
New Zealanders will not have to go to the polls when voting in the referendum, as the first round of voting will be carried out by post. When a finalist from the four is selected, a second referendum will be held to choose between the new flag and the current one.
Since the final four were announced, the response online has been mostly critical, with one political think thank saying the likelihood of the new flag being officially raised has fallen by 30%.
On Twitter, the hashtag #NZflag has been trending, mostly with derisory tweets complaining about the selection:
The final 4. Looking gud NooZulund! #nzflag pic.twitter.com/P6T3KgS5hE
— Paul Be (@paulsbradley) September 1, 2015
Damn, was really rooting for this guy #NZFlag pic.twitter.com/EnFIDLexFG
— Lauren Mabbett (@LaurenMabbett) August 31, 2015
Wow. Such flag. Much patriot. So flappy. Restore honor to country. Wow. #nzflag #vexilLOLogy pic.twitter.com/s2EnOPk40I
— Dan Newman (@danserif) September 1, 2015
Those who want to keep the current flag will be feeling more relaxed now after the release of the mediocre top 4. #nzflag
— Lorna Johnson (@lornaajohnson) August 31, 2015
Putting photoshop's generate flame to good use #nzflag pic.twitter.com/kmyrOoIw50
— Ben Wright (@bwjwright) August 31, 2015
With #LaserKiwi not even making this elimination round, support plummets for #nzflag reality show. pic.twitter.com/Kgw8c8iRzq
— Rangi Kemara (@Te_Taipo) August 31, 2015
@AlessandraRach At this point, I'd take it. pic.twitter.com/8MqmX1s8xr
— Aaron Alexander (@aaronwatermelon) August 31, 2015
Has this entire process just been one long elaborate practical joke? That's the only way to explain the #NZflag shortlist. Utterly awful
— Neville (@1FightingIrish) August 31, 2015
