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FLYING HIGH: New Zealand votes to keep the British Union flag in historic referendum; 57 percent voted to keep its current flag against 43 percent; Fiji's twin dictators will ignore result and impose their own flag on Fiji!   

24/3/2016

5 Comments

 

2.1 million votes cast from New Zealand's 3.2 million registered voters

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The current New Zealand flag (L) the referendum winning blue and black Kyle Lockwood designed flag (C) and the second placed red and blue flag (R)

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The New Zealand flag vote was a wasteful vanity project by John Key

By Jenna Hatch, New Zealand

As a teacher, my young pupils didn't care about British colonial images and reported feeling attached to their flag. Even they saw through this pointless political exercise. As a teacher working in New Zealand, I watched with fascination as the debate over the change to the nation’s flag, and the resulting referendum, played out. Now we know the result: the silver fern has been rejected, and the Union Jack remains.


Despite being British, I didn’t have any strong feelings about the outcome – if the citizens of New Zealand chose to dispense with the symbol of colonialism, then so be it. What surprised me was just how strongly the children I teach felt about it, and how attached they were to their cultural history. 

In a survey conducted by students in my class, polling 120 11 to 13-year-olds, 71 per cent wanted to keep the old flag and only 29 per cent wanted the new silver fern flag. When asked about their motivations, they said the old New Zealand flag represented their past. It was the flag that their ancestors fought under in the world wars, and the flag they have used to represent their place in the world.

They also said they saw the flag change as a vanity project by the Prime Minister, John Key, wanting to make his mark before he gets kicked out of office. And I agree.

This vote was ill-timed and out of touch with national feeling. Before Key started talking about it, there was little genuine call for a new national flag. In fact, the nation had only last year marked the 100th anniversary of Anzac day, remembering the contribution of New Zealand in World War One. That event, a veritable feast of flag-waving, prompted no such questions.

Yet, once the flag debate began, an important matter arose: one of the key arguments for changing the flag was that the old one failed to represent Maori culture - integral to modern New Zealand, and a critical part of its citizens’ shared history. But how did the new designs represent the Maori people? Students pointed out that swapping the Union Jack for the silver fern would not help in that endeavor at all. No wonder residents were so apathetic about it.

My students, and most people of New Zealand, simply don’t care about the Union Jack. The only reason some supported a change was to differentiate the nation from Australia. The Australian flag was, it is claimed, copied from New Zealand: both depict the UK flag and the Southern Cross.

What Kiwis rarely understand is that, by aligning themselves with Australia so symbolically, overseas they are not seen as different. No doubt Key was aware of that when he wanted to create a new identity for himself and his nation internationally. But, without support at home, that’s not reason enough to waste time, money and political energy on such a pointless exercise. My young students were right: this was nothing more than an expensive vanity project. The Independent, 24 March 2016


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5 Comments
Chiku
24/3/2016 07:21:50 pm

I said the exact same thing to a friend who came over to spend Easter with us. That unlike NZ where the voice of the people is heard and heeded, in Fiji the whim of the twin dictators will be imposed. Actually that has been the pattern of rule since the unlawful 2006 takeover and that has not changed with the holding of a phoney " democratic" election in 2014.
NZ labelled the $23 m flag change exercise a " waste of money". How much has Fiji wasted on this unnecessary flag change bullshit - money that could have been put to more productive use?

Reply
Welcome Home
24/3/2016 08:40:43 pm

The sensible reaction of many NZ voters to the waste of taxpayers' money on a referendum to change the flag will hopefully not be overlooked or ignored by Fijians. The Brussels and Paris attacks have a simple message for us all: Be united in the face of global terrorism. President Obama stressed this in Argentina and changing flags and symbols of national unity and historical links ought to stand low in priorities now. The insolence of power sits ill with the demand for national leadership of the highest order. Surely no less is to be expected? Flags on their flagpoles reflect brave deeds and endeavour, the ultimate sacrifice of so many in bygone world wars : "Lest We Forget" ? The Third World War is already begun as Pope Francis has not failed to make plain.

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Pita
25/3/2016 01:37:44 am

"Welcome Home" analysists say the vote against a change in the NZ Flag was more due to people not liking the alternative than to do with the cost of the change. But mind you. 44 per cent which is a sizeable chunk of the population voted for a change. The situation in Fiji is different, though I am not a big fan of British imperialism, I would prefer we keep the existing flag as a change now would divide our nation and we don't want this. I agree with u that there a lot of other priorities where this money can be used for betterment of our people

Rajend Naidu
24/3/2016 07:37:13 pm

Editor,
The ICC in Hague has handed down a verdict of guilty on Radovan Karadic for genocide and crime against humanity and 9 counts of war crimes.His Serb forces killed 8000 men and boys.(ABC 25/03) A quarter century ago Radovan was running the country as if he was untouchable and with impunity. Today he is looking at spending 40 years in jail.
The arrogance of power has been wiped off his face.
Nobody is untouchable in today's world. Let us remember that.
Sincerely,
Rajend Naidu

Reply
rajend naidu
24/3/2016 08:36:50 pm

Editor,
SILENCING CRITICS
We read in ' Vietnam political blogger jailed for " abusing freedom" : Lawyer' ( Reuter 23/03 ), that a well known political blogger and his assistant have been jailed by the Vietnamese State.
Vietnam has been widely rebuked for its tough moves to curb online dissent as public appetite for the Internet soars and Web users turn to blogs to read about issues that state controlled media avoid. ( Fijileaks fulfills that function as well).
Blogger Nguyen Huu Vinh was once a policeman and private investigator. He is the son of a late cabinet minister and former ambassador to the Soviet Union.
The US embassy in Hanoi said the use of criminal laws to stifle free speech was " disturbing" and called for the unconditional release of the bloggers.
Shawn Crispin, Southeast Asia's representative for the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists said the ruling was " a travesty of justice". He said further " if Vietnam wants to be seen as a responsible member of the international community ... these types of anti- state convictions must stop immediately".
Using criminal laws to stifle free speech has that happened in the"true" democracy in the " new" Fiji of Frank Bainimarama and Aiyaz Sayed Khaiyum?
Sincerely,
Rajend Naidu

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