The first Flag Summit has raised the hot issue of New Zealand's war dead dying for a flag which may now about to be changed. Photo / Martin Sykes
The first Flag Summit has raised the hot issue of New Zealand's war dead dying for a flag which may now about to be changed. Photo / Martin Sykes
Our soldiers died for our freedom, including the freedom of choice to select a new flag.
That was the response of Professor John Burrows, chairman of the Flag Consideration Committee, to the first caller to the 24-hour Flag Summit - raising the hot issue of New Zealand's war dead dying for a flag which may now about to be changed.
"Those soldiers died for our freedom - there's no doubt about that and they will always have our utmost respect," said Burrows. "But that is no reason not to change the flag - that freedom they fought for is also the freedom to make our own choices and that is what the flag debate is about."
Asked about the $26 million price tag behind the two referendums, Burrows said: "It's a lot of money, no question about that, and could have been spent on other things. But if you look at it on a per head of population basis, it is only about $5 a head - and it is only once in a 100 years."
The Flag Summit is being hosted on Newstalk ZB, iHeart Radio and the New Zealand Herald website and is a live, wide-ranging exploration of a nation with the opportunity to think about and vote on a flag representing them as a country and as individuals.
Red Peak by Aaron Dustin
Hosted by broadcaster, author and columnist Kerre McIvor, the night's first session had fellow broadcaster Tim Roxborogh, Burrows and Dr Adam Claasen, senior lecturer in modern history at Massey University discussing the flag debate and answering questions from talkback callers.
McIvor, pointing out that voting not to change the flag was also part of the debate, said she had noticed as a talkback host that some people were actually angry about the prospect of changing the flag.
Silver Fern (Black and White) by Alofi Kanter
Claasen said: "That's because we have grown up with it; it's all we know and we have seen it in a military sense in the wars and in a sporting sense.
"I was born in 1964 and I know some people are saying, 'Don't you dare change it.'"
Silver Fern (Black, White and Blue) by Kyle Lockwood
Burrows said: "I know there is some anger but that just shows how much people care for the subject of the flag; those people who don't want to change, well, this is the debate for you - as it is for those people who may decide to move on and try something different."
However, the current flag had been around since 1902 and "what we are really saying is that we are prepared to consider a change.
Koru by Andrew Fyfe
"Around the world in the last 20 years, there have been about 25 countries that have changed their flag - countries like Libya and Malawi. But those were not democratic processes so we have an opportunity those other countries did not have.
"And if you were born in the 1870s in Germany, say you had managed to live for 120 years or more, you would have seen no fewer than seven changes of flag."
Silver Fern (Red, White and Blue) by Kyle Lockwood
That included a state flag, an imperial flag, the Weimar Republic, the Third Reich and the East German flag among them.
Similarly New Zealand had previous attempts, dating from wartime leader Peter Fraser who had wanted to add a Maori element, a Minister of Foreign Affairs in the 1970s who wanted a silver fern dimension, former Prime Minister Jenny Shipley had also addressed the issue in the 1990s and the NZFlag.com trust had gathered 100,000 signatures to take to Parliament but had not managed to change the flag.
"So this is really the continuation of that dialogue and revisiting the subject; it hasn't just come out of the blue."
The 24-hour Summit is running through the night from 8pm tonight until 8pm Tuesday, the first broadcast from the iHeart Radio lounge in NZME's new flagship headquarters on Victoria St, Auckland city. It is being simulcast on Newstalk ZB from 8pm-5am Monday/Tuesday and continues on iHeart until 8pm Tuesday. People can join in by
• Texting questions to TEXT 92-92 keyword "Flag" • Social media (NZ Herald's Facebook page) • Calling 0800-NZFLAG to leave a message or ask a question
Panel guests appearing during the 24 hours will include Flag Consideration Panel members Professor Burrows, Peter Chin, Julie Christie, Rhys Jones and academic and flag historian Malcolm Mulholland.
Other guests taking part in the panel discussions will include business leaders like Malcolm Rands (Ecostore) and Murray Thom (Personalised Plates founder), entertainers Oscar Kightley, Lizzy Marvelly, Jackie Clarke and Tim Beveridge, RSA CEO Dave Moger and Maxim Institute think tank CEO Alex Penk. Broadcasters Petra Bagust, Jason Reeves, Oriini Tipene-Leach, Tim Fookes and John Cowan will also take part as will university professors and lecturers including Claasen, Professor Peter Lineham (both Massey University) and Dr Felicity Barnes (Auckland) plus many more commentators, writers, bloggers and youth representatives.
The first of two referendums - a postal vote where people will rank their preferences for the five alternative flag designs selected by the Flag Consideration Panel - will take placed from November 20 - December 11.
