"Brilliant comment on NZ flag proposals " Topic

"The massed yawn continues. Our millionaire ex-futures trader prime minister is determined to go out with (a) a knighthood, and (b) the massed approval of his business roundtable mates and (c) the reputation of the bloke who changed the New Zealand flag.

First he budgeted $26 USD million to the project. Then was appointed a committee to have a look at lots of designs. Please note this committee does not have a single vexillologist. Lovely word. It means an expert in flags and their designs. Which the committee thinks it can do without. It makes you think of the old saying that a camel was a beast designed by a committee.

And now they have come down to the shortlist of four. Pictured above. Please note that it is really a shortlist of two -- the fern vs the koru, the last of which is going to look really strange when frayed. As flags do. Our PM, described above, wants the fern, so he has been given a choice of three. Is this democracy?…"

Main page
link

Amicalement
Armand

With all due respect to our New Zealand friends, all four are terrible

The current flag beats them all, IMHO, by a mile (or a couple of kilometers)

Agree completely Frederick
No New Zealander (including myself) really gives a flying $%^& about the whole flag snorefest save for the fact we 'the taxpayers' are funding the 26 million dollar drama from our own pockets.

It's just a way for the greed motivated, financial system raping miscreants that run our country to keep the herd occupied whilst they deny us the 'democratic' rights to actually have a say in anything remotely pertinent to the running of this country.

The whole thing is an embarrassing farce. Even my Japanese co-workers are mystified as to why we'd want to change it.

As others have said, the process gives the illusion of a people's choice while the real machinery grinds on heedless of voters' views.

If they come out with a new flag annually, it'll keep the design committee members and flag makers employed for life, so…….

All them look like pillow or bed linen designs that you can buy at an IKEA store.

Keep,the current NZ flag, please.

We wont have a choice Der Alte Fritz
The Parasite in Command wants a legacy and a knighthood.

As a New Zealander, I agree entirely with all the criticism above. They are not flags, but logos. And not very good ones at that. I actually favour a silver fern on our flag, but none of those gosh-awful choices.

Old Fritz, you may be interested to know there is an informal public campaign for a write-in vote of KOF (Keep our flag). I shall be supporting it. It will be interesting to see how the PM ignores it if wins. I keep getting the feeling he made his choice a long time ago and this ‘public consultation' process is window dressing at best.

The ‘panel of experts' btw, not only did not contain a vexillologist, it did not contain anyone with a background in graphic design.

Baron T, as a three-time PM, John Key will get a Knighthood anyway. That is the convention. As for legacy … well the doghouse beckons if I go there. It is not just for US politics.

At least there is a two stage process. Choose the contender flag first then see if people want this or the current flag.

By having the fern as a sort of bend sinister, it will not be as noticeable when the flag is hanging from a pole rather than waving.

LOL on these pillowcases, I live in a country that picked a pair of colourful underpants for a flag, beware of what you wish for it might just be what you didn't.
Cheers and no salutes to no flags.

Kiwis with freakin' laser beams in their heads…Is it too much to ask???