New Zealand's flag referendum debate was mocked in the U.S. show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver. The British political satirist poked fun at the country's black silver fern flag and said it could be a flag of a vegetarian pirate ship.

Oliver's has suggested a number of alternative designs for New Zealand's flag including a bungee-jumping sheep, Stuff.co.nz reports. About one million viewers tune in to watch his show in the U.S. The show also airs in New Zealand. In the show's November 2 episode, Oliver introduced Prime Minister John Key as the leader who got involved in a fight with rapper Eminem but still managed to get re-elected for the third time in office. Oliver attempted his best New Zealand accent when he said Mr Key wanted to have a flag referendum. He went on to say Mr Key wanted to change the flag because it "looks too much like Australia's flag."

Oliver said the New Zealand prime minister is often seated near the Australian flag at events. The political satirist hinted that people may be doing it to Mr Key on purpose. He then moved on to compare the country's black silver fern design to the flag of ISIS. He said if Mr Key thought being mistakenly seated under the Australian flag was bad enough, it would be even more horrible if he was seated under the ISIS flag. Before ending his segment, Oliver made some suggestions of his own to replace the black silver fern design. He mentioned a design with a kiwi having sex with a hobbit, a bungee-jumping sheep or a flag with the text "we are not Australia."

According to reports, Mr Key has previously announced New Zealand will have a binding flag referendum in 2016 on changing the country's flag to the silver fern from the British union jack design. He said it was time for New Zealand to vote to adopt a flag that would represent the country more than the current design. The prime minister described the flag as the most important symbol of national identity. He believes the silver fern design reflects New Zealand's status as an independent country.