Companies drop flag campaign

The campaign for a public vote on changing the flag is now flying at half-mast, with Telecom and New Zealand Post backing out of a controversial plan to post the petition to 1.4 million households.

The decision to withdraw follows poor public feedback to the plan, which also elicited a letter of concern from the Minister of State Owned Enterprises to the board of NZ Post.

The campaign by lobby group nzflag.com needs 270,000 signatures by October to force a referendum on the question, "Should the design of the New Zealand flag be changed?"

Despite a string of endorsements from well-known New Zealanders - including Silver Fern Anna Rowberry and Auckland mayor Dick Hubbard - only 100,000 people have signed the petition.

Telecom had planned to include copies of the campaign petition form with monthly accounts sent to customers in August. NZ Post was to provide freepost return envelopes.

Telecom spokesman John Goulter said the decision was "not a big deal", and was the result of feedback from customers and shareholders.

"Most of the feedback has been that it's not something they see a particular need for Telecom to be doing at this stage," he said.

"We had taken the position that Telecom doesn't have a particular view on the outcome of the debate but we just thought that it was a debate that was worth having.

"Some people didn't seem to get that subtlety - they thought that we were taking a position and didn't think that we should."

Mr Goulter told the Herald on Sunday earlier this month that Telecom's support had "flowed on" from chief executive Theresa Gattung's endorsement.

A spokesman for State Owned Enterprises minister Paul Swain said yesterday that Mr Swain had written to the board of NZ Post expressing concern at its involvement and that it had not given him advance notice.

However, NZ Post spokesman Ian Long denied political pressure had been a factor in its decision.

He said it had only become involved at the request of Telecom, one of its largest clients.

"NZ Post was never purporting to have an opinion on it, it was about facilitating the debate," he said. "Now that Telecom's pulled out, NZ Post won't be involved."
- HERALD ON SUNDAY