International

The People Have Spoken: No New Flag For New Zealand

By Tanya Ballard Brown

Published March 24, 2016 at 3:30 AM PDT

This story was published more than 8 years ago.

The current New Zealand flag (left) hangs next to the alternative flag on a building site in Wellington on March 4. New Zealanders began voting March 3 on whether to adopt a new flag.

More than 2 million New Zealanders voted to keep the Union Jack on their national flag, ending a 10-month process and squashing a move Prime Minister John Key said would make it easier to distinguish from Australia's flag and bolster national pride.

The current flag has been the national symbol for 114 years, according to The Associated Press. The rejected design, which featured a silver fern, was selected from more than 10,000 submissions from the public.

Some people called a flag on the play over the estimated price tag: NZ$26 million, which is about $17 million in U.S. currency.

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"Naturally I'm a little bit disappointed the flag didn't change tonight," Key told reporters on Thursday. But he accepted the decision, tweeting:

New Zealand has voted to retain our current flag. I encourage all NZers to use it, embrace it and, more importantly, be proud of it.
— John Key (@RtHon_JohnKey) March 24, 2016

And, strangely, American comedian and actor Andy Richter seemed to follow the whole thing really closely, even offering up his flag choice:

Can't sleep. This New Zealand flag business is tearing me up inside
— Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) March 24, 2016

Oh my god. I'm shaking. Just puked all over myself. Don't know how to feel about this. https://t.co/HoWM3QEfdd
— Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) March 24, 2016

This got my vote for the new New Zealand flag https://t.co/VlsHg2I9CF
— Andy Richter (@AndyRichter) March 24, 2016

The preliminary voting result was announced on Thursday, and final numbers are expected next week.

As a reminder, here's a taste of the flags New Zealand could have had — including the front-runners and some very, very long shots.

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1 of 10

The final proposed alternative, "Silver Fern (Black, White and Blue)."

<a href="https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/the-five-alternatives/red-peak/">The "Red Peak" design</a>, by Aaron Dustin, was inspired by traditional Maori weaving patterns and references a Maori creation myth, the designer says.

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The "Red Peak" design, by Aaron Dustin, was inspired by traditional Maori weaving patterns and references a Maori creation myth, the designer says.

The "<a href="https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/the-five-alternatives/koru/">Koru" design</a>, by Andrew Fyfe, represents an unfurled silver fern frond "but is also reminiscent of a wave, a cloud, and a ram's horn," the designer writes.

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The "Koru" design, by Andrew Fyfe, represents an unfurled silver fern frond "but is also reminiscent of a wave, a cloud, and a ram's horn," the designer writes.

The "<a href="https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/the-five-alternatives/silver-fern-black-and-white/">Silver Fern (Black and White)" design</a> featured, like four of the other finalists, a silver fern. Designer Alofi Kanter described it as "strong and simple."

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The "Silver Fern (Black and White)" design featured, like four of the other finalists, a silver fern. Designer Alofi Kanter described it as "strong and simple."

The <a href="https://www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/the-five-alternatives/silver-fern-red-white-and-blue/">"Silver Fern (Red, White and Blue)"</a> design is nearly identical to the winning alternative design, and is by the same designer, Kyle Lockwood. The red represents "heritage and sacrifices made," he says.

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The "Silver Fern (Red, White and Blue)" design is nearly identical to the winning alternative design, and is by the same designer, Kyle Lockwood. The red represents "heritage and sacrifices made," he says.