# New Zealand is choosing a new flag **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 17, 2015, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413 "2015-07-17T13:43:44Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Muffin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muffin/32/4341_2.png) [@Muffin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Muffin)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/61 "2015-07-22T03:47:42Z")
Whatever they pick for a flag, it should use a bungie for the flagpole rope. ---
**Author:** ![Gorsnak](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gorsnak/32/7587_2.png) [@Gorsnak](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gorsnak)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 3:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/62 "2015-07-22T03:54:21Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > I like the silver fern idea, but just a black field with a white fern makes it look like a pirate flag. I’m confused. You’re saying that like it’s a bad thing. 😕 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2015, 4:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/63 "2015-07-22T04:29:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > _Bally Jerry, pranged his kite right in the how’s your father. Hairy blighter, dicky-birdied, feathered back on his Sammy, took a waspy, flipped over on his Betty Harper’s and caught his can in the Bertie._ Some of it is still used, or at least familiar enough to know what you’re saying (prang, blighter), but not all. Most of that is British slang, anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Dorjan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dorjan/32/12440_2.png) [@Dorjan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dorjan)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2015, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/64 "2015-07-23T19:23:30Z")
I like the silver fern one of the drop the stars. Stars on a flag are so passe now, and it doesn’t really add to the design. And perhaps another color other than red/white/blue. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2015, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/65 "2015-07-24T13:38:19Z")
Hawaii has the Jack on its flag. No trouble no conflict just an embrace of history. [https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=hawaiian+flag&biw=1242&bih=571&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CBsQsARqFQoTCPrLtaDx88YCFcwelAodaDIM1w#imgrc=iT4X6\_msfjwYRM%3A](https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=hawaiian+flag&biw=1242&bih=571&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&sqi=2&ved=0CBsQsARqFQoTCPrLtaDx88YCFcwelAodaDIM1w#imgrc=iT4X6_msfjwYRM%3A) ---
**Author:** ![lisiate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f05b48/32.png) [@lisiate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisiate)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/66 "2015-09-01T02:13:49Z")
ANd then there [were four,](http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/71624100/RECAP-Final-four-NZ-flag-designs-unveiled) two of which a pretty much identical. My vote is going towards [the hypnoflag.](https://twitter.com/Hypnoflag) ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Drake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ad7895/32.png) [@Dr.Drake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Drake)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/67 "2015-09-01T02:34:59Z")
Ugh. I’m with you on hypnoflag, but since three of the four have a fern leaf, I think the choice is made. ---
**Author:** ![Ferris](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ferris/32/11573_2.png) [@Ferris](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferris)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/68 "2015-09-01T05:04:58Z")
Not much variety between the four that we’ll get to vote on in March, and that could well mean that the second part of the referendum (existing flag vs. new) delivers a ‘do not change’ result. Plenty of war veterans in particular are dead set against a change, and I suspect anything less than about a 80% vote for one new design will mean people either lose interest in the process or stick with ‘the devil they know’. FWIW, my preference is included in that four, but I’m not yet convinced enough by the arguments to change the flag. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/69 "2015-09-01T05:13:08Z")
So how does the referendum work? Two questions, one to choose the challenger, and then one to match it against the current flag? ---
**Author:** ![bengangmo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/50afbb/32.png) [@bengangmo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bengangmo)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 6:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/70 "2015-09-01T06:14:16Z")
> [@Ferris](#): > > Not much variety between the four that we’ll get to vote on in March, and that could well mean that the second part of the referendum (existing flag vs. new) delivers a ‘do not change’ result. > > Plenty of war veterans in particular are dead set against a change, and I suspect anything less than about a 80% vote for one new design will mean people either lose interest in the process or stick with ‘the devil they know’. > > FWIW, my preference is included in that four, but I’m not yet convinced enough by the arguments to change the flag. Which considering that our troops have fought under the Silver Fern insignia before seems a little short sighted… I am highly in favour of dropping the Union Jack for a silver fern and keeping the Southern Cross - So yeah, I like the new designs ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Girl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7bcc69/32.png) [@Mighty\_Girl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Girl)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 11:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/71 "2015-09-01T11:42:15Z")
Has anyone thought of the obvious solution?: NZ declares war on Australia, devastates it, makes THEM change the flag. ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 11:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/72 "2015-09-01T11:48:54Z")
> [@bengangmo](#): > > Just to note - for naysayers, it seems that the [silver fern](http://media.newzealand.com/en/story-ideas/new-zealand-icon-silver-fern/) has more significance that a sports team icon If the ferns are about everywhere, how did they guide anyone home? By my sense of aesthetics alone, I’d pick the one with the red on the hoist side. I think it has a bit more color balance to it and matches the Southern Cross nicely. The black and white squiggly is just dreadful. Really, I think the one they had was perfectly fine. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/73 "2015-09-01T12:58:07Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Has anyone thought of the obvious solution?: NZ declares war on Australia, devastates it, makes THEM change the flag. Doesn’t get rid of the union flag, though, which I believe is one of the main goals. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 1:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/74 "2015-09-01T13:26:47Z")
Not crazy about any of the final four, but the black-and-white fern flag is the best of the bunch IMHO. ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/75 "2015-09-01T13:44:19Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Not crazy about any of the final four, but the black-and-white fern flag is the best of the bunch IMHO. Agreed. That hypnoflag is just a bit too…1973 wallpaper, I guess. The silver fern and the black-and-white coloring are distinctive and have symbolized New Zealand for a long time. The koru is just a bit too WTF? for my taste. But I’m not a Kiwi, so my opinion doesn’t really matter. ---
**Author:** ![not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/not_what_you_d_expect/32/3246_2.png) [@not\_what\_you\_d\_expect](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/not_what_you_d_expect)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/76 "2015-09-01T14:46:35Z")
I like the Blue and Black with 4 stars. I might like the hypno-flag if there was a black strip on the end, but probably not even then. ---
**Author:** ![Amateur\_Barbarian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/59ef9b/32.png) [@Amateur\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amateur_Barbarian)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 3:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/77 "2015-09-01T15:25:27Z")
I lean towards the red-blue fern flag. But I can see the appeal of the black one… it just seems a bit moderne-stark and might not age well. Is the opposition to these choices a… fern bar? ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 3:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/78 "2015-09-01T15:40:41Z")
> [@Mighty\_Girl](#): > > Has anyone thought of the obvious solution?: NZ declares war on Australia, devastates it, makes THEM change the flag. > [@Northern\_Piper](#): > > Doesn’t get rid of the union flag, though, which I believe is one of the main goals. But fresh from the conquest of Australia, with Aussie blood still dripping from her mighty fangs, NZ will simple tell Britain it’s time \*they \*get a new flag. One with no resemblance to any part of NZ’s fearsome banner. Or else. :eek: Kinda like the movie “Fierce Creatures”: [Fierce Creatures (1997) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119115) Raze whole villages they will once they get their back up! Don’t be dissin’ the Kiwis. Their bite is much worse than their chirp er grunt er whatever cute noise they make. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/79 "2015-09-01T16:03:38Z")
I like the red & blue one best. I guess the fern leaf is a must-have. The swirl one is kinda wierd and artsy. I wonder if that’s the choice that is intended to be rejected. Remember when people were voting on the replacement for the World Trade Center, and the choices were the decent-looking Freedom Tower, and some unGodly abomination that looked like a skeletal tower with a plane sticking out of the side? It was pretty obvious which one was the “correct” choice. ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2015, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413/80 "2015-09-01T17:31:43Z")
I think I’d go with the black-and-white fern first, then the hypno-flag, then the blue-and-red fern-and-stars, then the black-and-blue fern-and-stars. The two fern-and-stars are really close, but the blue-and-red one seems better balanced. I think the current flag would win out over the red-and-blue, but that black-and-white fern would win out over the current flag. The red-and-blue is not enough of a change. The hypno-flag might be too much of a change; I like **not what you’d expect** ’s idea of putting a black stripe on the end of the white. It would balance it out. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-zealand-is-choosing-a-new-flag/725413.md?page=5)