John Key's flag agenda has ended not with a bang, but a whimper.
At first, I supported having a debate on changing the flag. I wasn't the only one.
Politicians from all parties reached agreement on how the referendum should be conducted. But these recommendations were rejected by John Key. He refused to give New Zealanders the basic courtesy of asking if they wanted to change the flag by having the same simple yes/no vote in the first referendum.
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He offered his view many times over. In fact he insisted so loudly on a fern that supposedly independent Panel members admitted it influenced them, and they duly chose three fern flags for the final five.