New Zealand paves legislative way for possible new flag

New Zealand's Parliament has passed a bill that will enable two binding referendums that could result in a new national flag.

The passing of the New Zealand Flag Referendums Bill would secure New Zealanders their first opportunity ever to vote on the flag that best represented them and our country, Deputy Prime Minister Bill English said in a statement Thursday.

The first postal referendum was planned to take place between Nov. 20 and Dec. 11 and would give voters the opportunity to choose a favorite from four alternative designs.

The most-preferred design from the first referendum would then go to a second binding referendum in March next year, when voters would choose between the current flag and the most preferred alternative flag.

The bill also established the process for the implementation of a new flag in the event voters decided on a new one.

Last week, the government-appointed panel charged with deciding a potential new flag for New Zealand unveiled a long list of 40 designs, chosen from 10,292 designs submitted by the public.

The panel is to decide a short list of four designs by mid- September.

Many of the 40 designs are variations of a New Zealand fern leaf or a koru (a stylized Maori fern design), and the four stars that embellish the current flag and represent the Southern Cross constellation are also a common feature.

Critics of the present flag, including Prime Minister John Key, say it is too similar to the Australian flag and that it is a hangover from the country's colonial past with the British Union Jack in its top left corner.

However, public meetings on the subject have highlighted a lack of enthusiasm for change, with few people turning out.

The entire project is expected to cost over 25 million NZ dollars (16.45 million U.S. dollars).

Political opponents have described it as a waste of money and a "vanity project" of the prime minister. Endi