In honour of the New Zealand Waitangi Day I am bringing this hotly debated debacle before the bush court of the Brassgoggles Message Board for members to post their informed decisions below
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It is election year in NZ and the games have begun. As a diversion and distraction from the real issues the Prime Minister has declared there will be a referendum regarding a change of national flag. There have over the years, been a plethora of flag designs put forward by keen patriots .
The greatest arguments for another flag change have been :
It looks to much like Australia's
Canada got themselves a new one
The Union Jack in the corner is too British
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Since the 1830s we have had 3 or more flag changes. The steampunk element comes into play as the 19th century flags were more attractive, distinct and contained appropriate symbolism pertaining to our heritage and panorama around us. NZ was "invented" in the Victorian era.
I quite like the Antipodean Revival and Steampunk appeal of the original flags
United Tribes flag [ the interesting story behind its inception (involves Australia ) ]
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/flags-of-new-zealand/united-tribes-flag The 4 stars represent the Southern Cross constellation that is used in the Antipodes to navigate direction on land and sea

Following the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi on 6 February 1840, the Union Jack replaced the Flag of the United Tribes of New Zealand as the official flag of New Zealand. The new Lieutenant-Governor, William Hobson, forcibly removed the United Tribes flag from the Bay of Islands, and had the New Zealand Company's version of the flag hauled down at Port Nicholson.
http://www.nzhistory.net.nz/politics/flags-of-new-zealand/union-jack
Flag with Union Jack in corner and the letters 'NZ'. 'NZ' was used to represent New Zealand on the Blue Ensign from 1867 to 1869.

The official New Zealand flag was first used in 1869. It is based on the British blue ensign with the Union Flag (also known as the Union Jack) in the upper left corner, and four red stars with white borders to the right. These stars represent the constellation of Crux, the Southern Cross, as it seen from New Zealand. Initially used only on government ships, it wasn't until 1902 that it was made the official flag of New Zealand.

This is the flag the PM wants. It is the emblem of our national All Blacks rugby team. It has a black background and a ( white) silver fern. War veterans are concerned as this emblem is often mistaken for the white feather of cowardice.

A sample of NZ flags and design options put forward over the years
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_New_Zealand_flags