New Zealand votes to keep Union Jack on national flag

New Zealanders have voted to keep the Union Jack on their national flag, following a lengthy referendum process. The country’s Prime Minister John Key had been pushing for a change, describing the existing flag as a “relic of our colonial past”. "Our current flag reflects the way we once were, rather than the way we are now,“ he said. But voters have decided to keep the current design, which features the Union Jack in the top left corner. According to the New Zealand Electoral Commission, the preliminary results from the referendum showed 56.6% of people wanted to maintain the status quo, while 43.2% backed the alternative design.

New Zealand has voted to retain our current flag. I encourage all New Zealanders to use it, embrace it and, more importantly, be proud of it.

Prime Minister John Key

The final tally will be officially announced next Wednesday, once postal votes have been included. Those advocating for change had argued that the country’s flag was too similar to Australia’s and should instead feature the silver fern, which is widely considered to be a national symbol. The referendum was a two-stage process, with voters first being asked to decide on a possible alternative to the current design. New Zealanders were then asked to decide between the winning design and the existing flag. The process cost taxpayers NZ$26 million (£12.4m). The country’s flag has remained unchanged since it was formally adopted in 1902.

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