Skip to main content

No, that won't fly: New Zealand says no to the new flag




New Zealanders voted to reject a change in their national flag – they will retain the flag with the Union Jack in the top left corner. A flag competition over two years produced five contenders in a vote from November to December 2015. The winning flag competed with the current flag in the final round of voting in March 2016. The competition was launched to address people’s suggestion for a distinctive flag tht was not confused with the Australian flag, and that was not linked to the British Union Jack.

The current 'old' flag (below) has Britain’s Union Jack symbol and the four stars of the United Tribes of New Zealand (similar to Australia’s flag, which has five stars). The New Zealand flag, adopted in 1834 and chosen by Maori chiefs, included the Union Jack in 1902 – 62 years after it joined the British colonies in 1840. The country ceased to be a British colony in 1907.



The flag design competition attracted 10,292 entries, which was reduced to 40 and then five for voting. Kyle Lockwood designed the winning alternative flag, which competed with the current flag. It is black and blue with the national silver fern leaf, retaining the four stars (below).



The 67.3% total voter response represented 2,119,953 voters in the decison managed by the New Zealand Electoral Commission. The preliminary results of a postal referendum show 56.7% of voters prefer the current flag and 43.3% want to switch to a new flag. The  kiwi (their national bird) and the alternative flag won’t fly, because New Zealand says no to the new flag and yes to the old.

http://www.canberratimes.com.au/world/new-zealand-flag-referendum-kiwis-vote-to-keep-current-flag-20160324-gnqpm7.html


MARTINA NICOLLS is the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Pir-E-Kamil - The Perfect Mentor by Umera Ahmed: book review

The Perfect Mentor pbuh  (2011) is set in Lahore and Islamabad in Pakistan. The novel commences with Imama Mubeen in medical university. She wants to be an eye specialist. Her parents have arranged for her to marry her first cousin Asjad. Salar Sikander, her neighbour, is 18 years old with an IQ of 150+ and a photographic memory. He has long hair tied in a ponytail. He imbibes alcohol, treats women disrespectfully and is generally a “weird chap” and a rude, belligerent teenager. In the past three years he has tried to commit suicide three times. He tries again. Imama and her brother, Waseem, answer the servant’s call to help Salar. They stop the bleeding from his wrist and save his life. Imama and Asjad have been engaged for three years, because she wants to finish her studies first. Imama is really delaying her marriage to Asjad because she loves Jalal Ansar. She proposes to him and he says yes. But he knows his parents won’t agree, nor will Imama’s parents. ...
1 comment
Read more

Apes go to the movies - and remember the scenes

Apes remember major events in movies, even after a single viewing. That’s the findings of primate research in Japan (New Scientist, September 17, 2015). Researchers at the Kyoto University in Japan conducted experiments with two species of apes – chimpanzees and bonobo primates – to test their memory and recall. Instead of using food to test memory, they used films. The researchers made two short movies to show to the apes. Fumihiro Kano and his colleague, Satoshi Hirata, starred in the films with another person dressed as an ape. They wanted to have strong dramatic scenes to see if the apes remembered them. In the first 30-second movie the character ape bursts through a door on the right hand side (there is also a door on the left hand side) and attacks the two researchers (characters) 18 seconds after the start. After 24 seconds a human character choses one of two weapons next to each other and launched a revenge attack on the ape. In the second 30-second movie t...
Post a Comment
Read more

The acacia thorn trees of Kenya

There are nearly 800 species of acacia trees in the world, and most don’t have thorns. The famous "whistling thorn tree" and the Umbrella Thorn tree of Kenya are species of acacia that do have thorns, or spines. Giraffes and other herbivores normally eat thorny acacia foliage, but leave the whistling thorn alone. Usually spines are no deterrent to giraffes. Their long tongues are adapted to strip the leaves from the branches despite the thorns. The thorny acacia like dry and hot conditions. The thorns typically occur in pairs and are 5-8 centimetres (2-3 inches) long. Spines can be straight or curved depending on the species. MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- Similar But Different in the Animal Kingdom (2017), The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Suda...
1 comment
Read more