Editorial: Consign flag to history

Matthew Martin believes it's time to change the flag.

I have been giving this a lot of thought lately, and I've decided it's time to change our country's flag.

Tradition is a fine thing, but it can also hold people and good ideas back from their rightful place in modern society.

Our flag is, among other things, a throwback to a colonial past that many New Zealanders do not relate to.

Our history is just that, history, and has been coloured not just by Great Britain, as many people would have you think.

Changing our flag will not change our history but it could change our future.

Knockers of the idea have all sorts of objections to the possible change.

I find it hard to swallow the "it's a distraction to other issues we should be talking about" mantra.

This is thrown about by the Government's opposition who naturally oppose almost everything it does.

The TPPA is still big news, as is the housing crisis, child poverty and the dairy farming dilemma. The mere fact people are still vocal about these issues is proof enough the distraction argument does not hold water.

Will it be John Key's legacy to the nation? Also debatable. Under his watch, gay marriage was legalised - a pretty big deal at the time - and I'm pretty sure he'd be more interested in secret trade deals than flags.

Our soldiers fought for a flag? Somehow I'm not sure they did, and I think that does a great disservice to those who laid down their lives in the many conflicts New Zealand has been involved in.

There's a lot more to war than just a flag to fight under. Mates and the concepts of freedom and national autonomy are far more important than a piece of cloth.

Our modern soldiers have a large kiwi emblazoned on their uniforms and in World War I our troops were known as "fernleaves".

However, I'd like the Government include a "no change" option in the first referendum which would put a halt to the process if there was not enough support for it.

And, be honest, who in New Zealand wants to be mistaken for an Australian?