Aussies Call for New Australian Flag
The Australian flag and the New Zealand flag had always been mixed up with each other. There was one instance when former prime minister Bob Hawke was welcomed in another country by waving the New Zealand flag. On the other hand, Kiwis had expressed that the current New Zealand's flag does not reflect their country's independence from Britain.
On Tuesday, New Zealand Prime Minister John Key called for a referendum for Kiwis to vote on whether the nation should change the design of its flag - to which the organisation Ausflag believed that Australia should follow suit.
Ausflag is an apolitical, non-profit organisation aiming to convince the Australian people to call for an adoption of a truly Australian flag, according to its Web site.
"(New Zealand) has got this fabulous logo... which they use on their football jerseys - it just gives them an immediate recognition. We go round the world and people ask us what part of Britain we're from. Is that a way to market Australia? " Ausflag Executive Director Harold Scruby said during an interview with ABC.
Mr Scruby said that for the adoption of a new flag design to come true, Aussies should reach a consensus. And, as Aussies are all conservative in nature, the call for a new flag shall not be misconstrued as disrespect to the monarchy.
"We get split amongst designs like the kangaroo, the Southern Cross, Uluru, even the Aboriginal flag - and that's going to be the hard part," he said.
Mr Key on Tuesday announced that Kiwis shall cast their vote on whether to change its flag within the next three years.
"The design of the New Zealand flag symbolises a colonial and post-colonial era whose time has passed. The flag remains dominated by the Union Jack in a way that we ourselves are no longer dominated by the United Kingdom. I do not underestimate the significance of the flag to New Zealand's servicemen and women and their families, but being respectful of our history does not lock us permanently in the past," Mr Key said during his announcement.
Should Australia change the nation's flag too?