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| The New Zealand flag. (AP) |
Fresh
off a big election win, New Zealand Prime Minster John Key says he wants the
nation to vote next year on changing its flag.
Key
told television station TV3 on Monday that he wants a national referendum held
in 2015. He first raised the idea of a flag vote in March.
One idea for a new flag would have a
black background with a silver fern, like many of the country’s sports teams.
The fern is a national emblem of New Zealand.
The referendum would allow New
Zealanders to choose whether they want to keep the present flag, or choose a
new design.
Key says he wants to consider many
opinions on the significant move. ”I've had some advice on it; I'll be getting
more, but that's just been about the process and how things could be
done," the prime minister told reporters.
"I'd like to see a
change," Key said. "But firstly, it's not the single biggest issue
that we, as a country, face. And secondly, even with those who want to change,
there's not universal support for what we should change to."
Key's
center-right National Party won 48 percent of the vote in Saturday's election,
giving it a third term in office.
Some
in New Zealand consider the flag to be an unwanted relic from a colonial past,
while others feel a deep attachment to it.
It depicts the Southern Cross star constellation
and includes Britain's Union Jack in the upper left corner. Opponents say it's
too similar to Australia's flag and doesn't reflect New Zealand's independence
from Britain.
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