Dominic George: Flag change talk clouds bigger priorities

Expect plenty of squabbling over how the New Zealand flag should look if changes go ahead.

Don't be fooled people. The Government's push to change New Zealand's flag is nothing but a self-indulgent exercise in propaganda designed to ignite the flames of patriotism.

Of all the things to be concerned about, this should be near bottom of the list. Who actually wants this change and does anybody care? Be honest, would you have even thought about it if the Prime Minister hadn't raised the idea? Exactly.

As a deeply cynical human being, I'm inclined to think there's an ulterior motive here -- no one would squander millions of dollars on a referendum simply on a whimsical notion such as "time for a change", would they? No, I didn't think so. So why the change?

The Prime Minister said this week we face international and regional terror risks and we may one day face a domestic risk. He's right, of course, we may. But, in recent times, we've seen the country's terror alert move up a notch, New Zealand gain a seat on the UN Security Council and involvement in the fight against IS militants is inevitable. I can sniff a PR offensive a mile away and this whole flag shenanigans could be a way of buttering up Joe Public for some unsavoury times ahead with a bit of jingoistic nonsense. Either that or it's a "legacy" move by the PM -- the man who's aiming to become the longest-serving leader in New Zealand history and the man who changed the flag. I'm not particularly enamoured with the current flag, but it's just a flag and it appears there's bigger fish to fry.

Mark my words, there will be people who get very aggressive in their stance over this, no matter which side they're on. I won't be one of those people. If the flag stays the same that's fine by me; if it changes, it will have no effect on me at all. But there will be a core group of people that go along with it 'cos John said so. That's fine, each to their own, but it also wouldn't kill these people to think for themselves once in a while.

But if we indulge in this flag-changing fiasco, why stop there? We should also address the national anthem and the haka while we're at it.

I've just recently found out, courtesy of a column by Sir Bob Jones a couple of years ago, the 1876 lyrics by Thomas Bracken were the winning entry in a newspaper competition judged by a group of Aussies and a couple of Germans. As New Zealand society becomes increasingly secular, the words become increasingly irrelevant. In fact, they're less relevant to New Zealand than the Union Jack. But the only time people will collectively think about changing the anthem is when John Key says we should. Until then we'll belt out the lyrics without batting an eyelid.

And then there's the haka. There's been more debate this week about whether we should still insist on this indulgence in the sporting arena in light of the near-fisticuffs that punctuated the start of the on-field drama between the Junior Kiwis and Kangaroos over the weekend. I don't mind it for All Blacks tests, and there's been a noticeable decline in its use since Dave Currie stepped aside from Olympic and Commonwealth Games chef de mission duties, but it's still overdone. And it's often done in wildly inappropriate and nonsensical situations, bearing in mind it's a challenge. Sometimes less is more.

New Zealand's flag may not be great in terms of world flags, but it's part of our history. People will say they want to sever ties with Mother England. Tell that to the thousands of adoring sycophants who clamber over each other to get a mere glimpse of a Prince or Princess when they arrive at our shores.

Plus factor this in - it's New Zealand. Whoever's charged with coming up with new designs will be slated for including this or excluding that; there won't be enough representation from one group, there'll be too much of another.

There'll be squabbling, discontent and general irrationality from all and sundry. For my money, the best design I've seen recently was one of a certain leader holding a flag that simply said, "For Sale".

• Dominic George hosts Farming First, 5am-6am weekdays on Radio Sport.