David Howard: Best of British heritage

Prime Minister Helen Clark has expressed her preference for removing the Union Jack (correctly the Union Flag) from the design of our New Zealand flag.

It is a remarkable prejudice to be found in a prime minister who owes her position to the traditions we have inherited from the British connection.

New Zealand has an excellent flag which represents who we are. The Southern Cross in a sea of blue locates us in the South Pacific and the Union Jack in the corner represents our many positive British traditions. In a world wracked by conflict, corruption, intolerance and bad governance, these traditions should be protected and encouraged.

New Zealand shares the Union Flag not only with Britain but with other countries including Australia.

This shared heritage is both useful and comforting. When we see the Union Jack on a flag we can make certain assumptions about that country: that English will be spoken, that there will be parliamentary democracy with a free press and freedom of religion, that there will be a strong Christian tradition of tolerance and charity, that the rule of law will apply including habeas corpus, that ideals of public service and loyal opposition will be fundamental political concepts.

The first thing a corrupt government would want to do is distance itself from all those positive political values.

Some former British territories have done just that.

Critics of our flag claim that it is too similar to that of Australia - but that is no bad thing. Australia and New Zealand have much in common and our similarities and fellow-feeling are often cause for celebration. And although the flags are similar, anybody interested in this part of the world who cannot distinguish our flag from Australia's is clearly intellectually challenged.

People further afield, of course, have an excuse. The average world citizen could also be excused for confusing any of the 12 national flags which carry a crescent moon.

Do we hear of any angst emanating from the citizens of Turkey, Pakistan, Algeria or Malaysia about sharing the crescent moon, that it somehow dilutes their nationhood? They are more likely to celebrate the commonality of their Islamic tradition and to use it politically in world forums.

It is disturbing when any of our institutions or icons is under attack. It is a well-known technique of those with a hidden agenda for change to first destroy a people's icons.

At the recent Youth Parliament in Wellington, it was observed by one perceptive participant that we seem to be moving towards a republic "by stealth".

There is no doubt - indeed, they no longer try to hide it - that some parliamentarians favour a republic. This is unfortunate when we have such a strong and positive tradition as a free and independent dominion in the Commonwealth and that we have a flag to prove it.

We are not alone. We share the Union Jack not only with Britain but with six other nearby Pacific nations and Bermuda in the Atlantic.

We also share the queen as head of state. These contacts do not weaken our nationhood, rather they strengthen it.

In the words of Peter Fraser, Helen Clark's political forebear, dominion status means "independence with something added and not independence with something taken away". One might say the same about sharing the Union Flag.

Our flag represents our history. It also represents our bicultural nation which formally began with the Treaty of Waitangi and the acceptance by Maori of British citizenship. We are a nation with the many positive traditions of political and social freedom which have grown out of a shared British history.

These are values to be celebrated and there is no better way of acknowledging them but by leaving them on our flag.

* David Howard is a teacher and former Head of Department, Humanities, at ISS International School, Singapore.