JSランゲージスクールブログ | Changing New Zealand’s Flag
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by Patrick
Because I’m an Australian, I take an interest in news from New Zealand. New Zealand is not Australia’s closest neighbour geographically (that would be Papua New Guinea), but we are in the same region, and the two countries are very similar culturally. The latest news from New Zealand is that they might change their national flag. Can you recognise the flag of New Zealand? It’s quite similar to the Australian flag, but in fact New Zealand’s flag design is older than ours. Both flags have the British flag – called the Union Flag or ‘Union Jack’ – in the top-left corner. Both flags also feature the Southern Cross, which is a famous constellation (group of stars) that can only be seen in the Southern Hemisphere.
New Zealanders will vote on whether or not to change the flag in March next year. Personally, I think the new flag design is really nice! It keeps the Southern Cross but gets rid of the Union Jack, a symbol of British colonialism. Instead of the Union Jack, the new flag features a silver fern, a plant that is a popular symbol of New Zealand, with connections to the culture of the indigenous Maori people. The main colours of the new flag are black, blue, and white, plus the traditional red for the stars of the Southern Cross. I think these colours are distinctive but subtle and stylish. I like the new flag design.
However, I’m not a New Zealander! Within New Zealand, naturally the idea of changing the flag is quite controversial. Some conservative people don’t want the flag to change at all. Some people think the government should be working on more important problems, instead of trying to change the flag. Some people want the flag to change, but don’t like the new design that has been chosen, because it looks like a corporate logo, or a political party logo. For someone living in New Zealand, the issue is more complicated than it seems to someone from outside.
You can see the current flag of New Zealand on its Wikipedia page:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flag_of_New_Zealand
And here is a website promoting the new flag design:
http://www.silverfernflag.org/
