After a long and expensive lookup for a new flag , New Zealanders have settle the old intent was n’t so regretful after all . The anticlimactical ballot fare after a 10 - calendar month saga , spearhead by Prime Minister John Key . The Guardianreports that 56.6 percentage of New Zealanders voted to keep the original 114 - twelvemonth - old flag , which features the Union Jack , while 43.2 percent voted for the fresh design , adorned with a fluent fern .
The Final Design ( Getty Images )
NPR
explains that theFlag Consideration Projectstarted as a way to let New Zealanders participate in imagining a new flag , with the purpose of creating a innovation that eliminates ties to Britain . New Zealanders ended up submitting over ten thousand designs , which ranged from elegant patterns and advanced illustrations to goofy memes , adorable children ’s drawings , andkiwi birds with laser vision . While New Zealanders had some fun with the designs , many ultimately became disillusioned with the process , which cost the nation a astounding $ 17.4 million .
According toThe Guardian , many New Zealanders vote against the fresh flagstone not because it was too basal , but because it did n’t seem dissimilar enough from the old design . “
I call up it ’s been talked about a lot and a lot more money has been spent on it than call for to be , ” one elector toldThe Guardian . “ It would have been good to set us apart from Australia but the monetary value have fellate out excessively . ”
But John Key remains undeterred . “ Obviously I ’m a bit disappointed there was no change but nearly a million mass voted for modification , ” he said . “ Just because it ’s not the outcome I wanted does n’t mean it was n’t a worthwhile process . ”
[ h / tThe Guardian ]
