Bruce Bisset: Good time to talk about new flag

The current flag - in use since 1869, but not adopted until 1902 - is little more than a generic reminder of a dead empire, says Bisset. Photo / File

As much as it seems designed to distract from the increasingly bizarre political life of the country, debate on whether to change the flag threatens to consume more of our time than any other issue this year.

Should we wave it away, our stand on our colours? Embrace a change for the future, or stick with history and tradition? And if we do want to raise a new ensign, what should it look like?

First, is it a debate we should be having at all? Emphatically, yes. Because so much has changed in the 108 years since we became an "independent" dominion of the British Empire - not least that the empire has ceased to exist - that it is useful to reflect on who we are and what we aspire to; and a debate about our national flag draws those aspects into the spotlight.

Like it or not, New Zealanders are not the same, culturally, as we once were. With the huge influx of "non-traditional" peoples over the past 50 years - Pacifica and Asian in particular - together with "global shrinkage" of travel and communication, our demographic make-up and our mental outlook have changed dramatically.

Leave judgments like "better" or "worse" out of it. We've changed; we must accept that.

As for timing, there's never a "right" time for these things - though arguably under this neoliberal government is a "wrong" time - but after two centuries of colonisation and going into a new century which threatens wholesale change, it can fairly be said it is timely.

So, let's accept that premise and have the debate. And put niggles like what it costs or who's driving it aside. Bottom line, we may or may not agree to a new flag, but we're almost certain to discover some useful facts about what makes us tick by debating it.

Why is that important? Because at base we're talking nationalism; what it means to be a Kiwi, how we fit with the rest of the world, and where we see ourselves going as a nation.

It's important too because it could be said we are finally growing up - though our adolescence still lingers. We have gone a long way towards reconciling our past divisions, particularly between Maori and Pakeha; the template has been laid and the process advanced. And we are now grappling with new divisions of the sort adults must deal with: growing gaps between rich and poor, creeping corruption, demanding new partners, wider and more fluid dynamics in our international relationships.

Old soldiers may be aghast at the idea the flag should change just because our outlook has, but what is a flag, after all, but a symbol of our nationality? Provided that symbol instils pride in your national identity, you can fight and die (or not) under one symbol as well as another.

I admit I'm conflicted on these issues, because I am a globalist and fiercely proud of my country. Going forward, I'd like to be able to wave something I felt embodied the best expression of New Zealand - and hope the country stayed worthy of that expression being showcased to the world.

The current flag - in use since 1869, but not adopted until 1902 - is little more than a generic reminder of a dead empire, being merely the British blue ensign (c.1707) with four stars added. As such, it is not truly ours.

So, we need a new one. Of course, exactly what design best suits - and how you decide - is a whole other argument. But it's one we need to have.

That's the right of it.

Bruce Bisset is a freelance writer and poet.