New Zealand PM wants vote on flag
New Zealand Prime Minster John Key wants the nation to vote next year on changing its flag.
Fresh from a big election win, he told television station TV3 today that he wants a national referendum held in 2015. He first raised the idea of a flag vote in March.
Mr Key’s centre-right National Party won 48% of the vote in Saturday’s election, giving it a third term in office.
Some in New Zealand consider the flag to be an unwanted relic from a colonial past, while others feel a deep attachment to it.
It depicts the Southern Cross star constellation and includes Britain’s Union Jack in the upper left corner.
Opponents say it is too similar to Australia’s flag and does not reflect New Zealand’s independence from Britain.
