I’m not sure that New Zealand is ready for a new flag, public opinion would suggest not, nevertheless we have a process that has been put upon us to consider change. When we changed our national anthem from God Save the Queen to God Defend New Zealand the new anthem had been around a long time, so long that it resonated with people as more appropriate for our National Anthem. We may have Kiwi’s Silver Ferns and Korus and other symbols but none of them resonate as a national flag. They may all be fine as logos but flags are more than national logos, if we are to have a new flag it should say something about us, our land and our people. As much as our present flag has deep associations with our past maybe it is time to think of the future and look for a flag that all those who live here can identify with. If nothing else we need a flag that is readily distinguishable from that of Australia and it doesn’t look like they are going to change there’s in the foreseeable future.

The New Zealand has changed, it is still changing, Aotearoa New Zealand is a multi cultural society with people from all over the world living here. Many of us have mixed ancestry from all over the world. The most vocal voices against change have come from older white middle New Zealand. There are many reasons why that is understandable but many recent immigrants and young New Zealanders are not so attached to our past or what our flag symbolizes. Maybe it is time to think of a flag that resonates to younger New Zealanders, a flag not the past but for the future .

Why should this design be a new flag for Aotearoa New Zealand?

This design for a new flag for Aotearoa New Zealand is a considered approach to how we represent our country and our people. It is intimately associated with “Our Flag Our Story Aotearoa New Zealand” that explicitly tells of many of the things we associate with our present flag but more as well, it looks to our future. It is a simple design, a flag should be instantly recognizable without having to think too much about it and mentally process a complicated image. Practically this design is flexible in it's aspect ratio, it can be 2:1 like our present flag or by just using the stars on the colour bands it can be higher than wide at 1:2.

Think about what defines our nation. We are an island nation surrounded by sea, we or our ancestors had to cross that sea to get here. We are proud of our unique natural heritage, our forests and our green land.  We have our snow capped mountains reaching to the clouds, our Aotearoa. The colours that naturally follow are blue, green and white in horizontal stripes. We are in the Southern Hemisphere so retaining the Southern Cross on our flag is not just for continuity but for what it represents. The Southern Cross can also represent more, The red can speak about the conflicts that have defined us as a nation so much and the white can represent endeavors to make a more peaceful world.

So when we see this flag we can think of all these ideas and be proud citizens of Aotearoa New Zealand.

 

Why did I design this flag

It was back in about 2006/7 that there was a campaign for a new flag called NZFlag.com. It didn't get off the ground and I wasn't impressed by their designs and neither it seems was anyone else. I think one was a silver fern design but the way I see it such symbols are fine for logos but national flags have to be more than logos. National flags are generally simple in design and choose colours that some how resonate and tell a story about the country they represent. Think of the Stars and Stripes or the Union Jack, perhaps more complicated than some but still they tell a story about their country.

About that time I met a young lady of 7 who proudly told me “I have five of the languages of New Zealand, Maori, Samoan, Chinese Scottish and French” As you may expect it was hard look at her and to determine her racial identity as one particular group. While I may be Pakeha of English and Scottish origin it struck me that she represented the new face of New Zealand. The people of this land have never been too worried about racial difference when choosing mates.

So I set about thinking how all this could be represented in a flag for our country. Physically it was about how to represent our land and soon that led to blue for the sea and green for the islands and white for our long white cloud. Keeping a representation of the Southern Cross seemed both sensible and useful.

Why Write our Flag Our Story Aotearoa New Zealand

It seemed to me that we don't have any sort of statement of National identity as a country. We may sing God Defend New Zealand but it doesn't say much about us really. We can wave our arms and say what we think our flag means but wouldn't it be better to have some sort of statement saying it and embody some of our history and national identity.

Why empathise Aotearoa so much

Well it's an important part of our psyche and identity. The Dutch named Australia New Holland and when Abel Tasman discovered our Islands he called them New Zealand. The British just named the colonies in Australia but it wasn't until the time came to form the Modern Commonwealth of Australia that the name Australia came into use. We on the other hand have been stuck with our Dutch name. Why should we be called “New some low island off Holland in the North Sea”. As we continue to form our own identity it wouldn't surprise me if future generation change or country's primary name to Aotearoa.

Why go on so much about wars we have fought in

It's a bit hard not to. I think of this version as the long version ANZAC day version however as I wrote the shorter version I decided to offer this longer version covering conflicts also. The problem is that if one war or battle is mentioned where do you stop. My grandfather was wounded in the trenches in WW1. His son, my never to be uncle, was a pilot lost in Europe, my father spent much of WW2 with our forces in the Pacific Island. My children have a great Grandfather who was one of the last off the beach in Gallipoli. All these conflicts to do parallel our development as a nation and our place in the world so they are part of our story.

Why not mention the Treaty and Maori

It's not that they are specifically excluded rather it's about looking to what we all share in common. Aspects of the treaty about land and water can be represented by the blue and green. As important as these things are in our past and our psyche I'd rather look to the future and what we share and brings us together. We all have a story that can fit into the ideas of Our Flag Our Story Aoteroa New Zealand.