The people of New Zealand are being given the chance to choose the design of a new flag. The Flag Consideration Project set up a website for people to design and upload ideas for a new national flag.
The best forty from the more than 10,000 designs submitted are now available for the public to see before a panel selects a shortlist of four to be put to a public vote in a referendum at the end of the year.
The decision to challenge New Zealand's existing flag has been led by prime minister John Key, who has commented that the current design "symbolises a colonial and post-colonial era whose time has passed".
The current N.Z. flag features Britain's Union Flag (on the upper left-hand quarter) which may New Zealanders feel does not represent the country. It is also said that it has a very similar appearance to Australia's flag.
Some Kiwis, however, feel attached to the flag as it has been part of the country's history and events are what give the flag its symbolic and emotional value rather than the design itself.
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