Locals submit flag designs

One Flag, One Nation, by Rotorua's Dale Corbett.

Rotorua residents are having their say on a new New Zealand flag.

People from the wider Bay of Plenty area, including Rotorua, have submitted 86 flag designs as part of the Government's Flag Consideration Project.

Rotorua software developer David McNamara said there had been a lot of discussion about whether a flag change was needed. He thought, if it was going to change, he might as well have a say on what he wanted it to look like.

Aotearoa - The Gathering Place of Peoples, by Rotorua's David McNamara.

"I'm overseas a lot and people get confused with ours and the Australian flag a lot," he said.

In some ways, he thought it was time to move on from the Union Jack, he said. His design is called Aotearoa - The Gathering Place of People.

Six red lines symbolised blood lines of people from various places in the Pacific and around the world who had come to Aotearoa and called it home, according to his flag description. The lines meet under the Southern Cross.

Former Rotorua local Dale Corbett's submitted design is red, white and black - featuring an enlarged quarter of the Union Jack with added koru.

Mr Corbett's flag description said the koru symbolised a new beginning, which the flag would be for New Zealand. The Union Jack showed New Zealand retained a relationship with the United Kingdom, even though it was its own nation.

The red, white and black colours symbolised Maori culture. He hoped his flag could be used as a symbol of unity to help bring the people of New Zealand together.

Mr Corbett said he wanted to have a go at designing a flag, even though many of the other submissions looked good.

He hoped his flag would make it into the final four which go to a public vote as he felt many of the submitted designs were similar and his was a bit different.

Mr Corbett is from Rotorua and currently studying a Bachelor of Computer Graphic Design at the University of Waikato.

The Flag Consideration Project began this month with the public being invited to suggest flag designs. The period for suggestions closes on July 16 and a panel will select a shortlist of four designs in September.

As of Wednesday afternoon, there were 2188 designs from New Zealand and overseas.

A postal referendum in November and December will determine the preferred alternative flag. A second postal referendum will be held next March to decide between the current flag and the preferred alternative.

Returned Services Association (RSA) national president Barry Clark said his initial opposition to the referendum and flag change hadn't changed now the project was under way.

It was a $26 million process and he understood about $7 million was the cost of the flag referendum panel. He said the Government was effectively giving $7 million to a group of people to convince people the flag should be changed.

There was an expectation the RSA would lead the fight against the change, but it would have to fund the fight itself. "It's a little bit undemocratic."

New Zealand First leader Winston Peters suggested people write "no change" on their first voting slip which would invalidate their vote. Mr Clark also encouraged people to do so.