New Zealand Flag Referendum Explained

A brief explanation of the New Zealand flag referendum.
New Zealand's flag is very similar to Australia's flag, and features a Union Jack as a canton, despite the fact that it has been a fully independent country for nearly 70 years. For these reasons, many people feel that changing the flag would be appropriate.
First, flags were submitted by the public, with over 10,000 entries. The flag committee then narrowed these time to a finally 4. A 5th option was later added due to a petition.
A referendum between these 5 flags was held during November and December 2015. The winner of this referendum will go head-to-head with the current New Zealand flag in the 2nd referendum in March 2016.
Copyright info:
MUSIC
'Carefree' - Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
VIDEO
New Zealand Government (www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/the-five-alternatives/)
KZbin channel - kzbin.info/door/l4VX9ACj2r7vsQRMZoGQHw
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
IMAGES
Most flag images - New Zealand Government (www.govt.nz/browse/engaging-with-government/the-nz-flag-your-chance-to-decide/the-five-alternatives/)
creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
Red Peak Flag
(aotearoaflag.tumblr.com/)
All other images used from Wikipedia, used with permission or used under with fair use.

[@kaylajay0559]

As a citizen from New Zealand I reckon we should have gone for the kiwi with the laser eyes

[@robertdonnan2893]

KaylaJay055 🤣yes

[@BocchiTheFrog]

😂😂

[@NatjoOfficial]

It did end up becoming a minor icon of New Zealand I suppose

[@c.g.5580]

KaylaJay055 ah, a man of culture

[@connorwells2646]

YES

[@xmgcoyi]

spoiler alert: they kept their existing flag

[@qfuh8199]

Such a waste of 26 mill.

[@Redmantic]

Indeed we did

[@grahamshorten4087]

Y tho 😔

[@danielgammo]

@@grahamshorten4087 the final option is ****

[@ohioandnortheastern]

Or they still thinking of the public

[@VioIette]

Guys please don't judge this. I'm a citizen in New Zealand and nothing happened the flag stayed the same

[@scruffyrodriguez7698]

XxX_MLG69 Toilet Paper420_XxX good.

[@darianr.6143]

What is your opinion on that

[@LoydAvenheart]

ever more to judge.

[@22ndcenturyschizoidman]

XxX_MLG69 Toilet Paper420_XxX Because people voted to keep.

[@oskarsverdrup9906]

Scruffy you have nothing to do with the New Zealand flag. If the citizens wanted to change their flag, your opinion on the matter would be irrelevant.

[@GMMReviews]

Britain is up here, having important referendums, like Scottish Independence, and EU Independence.. ..and New Zealand spent $26 million to pick a new flag.. and then decided to keep the old one..

[@tannerwilson4843]

GMMReviews I’m starting to think that when Queen Elizabeth II passes away! We will probably see the end of the British Commonwealth (Australia, New Zealand, Canada, etc.). If and when that happens, that’s when we will likely see a nation like New Zealand get a new flag. Considering how close the vote was, it’s probably not that far away.

[@TheRealLaking]

Depends who succeeds the Queen if her son Charles takes the throne their is a chance for countries to remove the queen as head of state but if William were to take the throne it is less likely (as he has much higher public opinion)

[@alexk8599]

Tanner Wilson - we Australians (and presumably other Commonwealth citizens) have been thinking this for decades. Random - this is also a popular idea, but Charles will not abdicate in favour of his son. William is more popular, but the idea of skipping a generation is kind of ridiculous.

[@saoirsedeltufo7436]

To be fair, they at least just threw $26m away, we spent even more to shoot ourselves in the foot...

[@thefellowofacardinal6181]

Tanner Wilson how close was the vote?

[@lngvly22]

Hawaii still has the Union Jack, and it's not even close to being a British colony or commonwealth.

[@sandramorgan5074]

it was a colony of Britain, then became independent, then joined the US. The Union Jack is a sign of heritage, that's why so many countries have it.

[@timperme1525]

+Sandra Morgan Its not the heritage of the Hawaiians, but heritage of those damn immigrants. (Its a joke, I have never been to hawaii, or any country that has a union jack on their flag)

[@Marvinskanalify]

+Sandra Morgan Hawaii was never a British colony, it was an independant kingdom wich had close ties with the Brits so they put the Union Jack on their flag, latter the US launched a covert infiltration and a not so covert Coup and annexed it.

[@ARP2wefightforyou]

I was thinking the same thing.

[@sandramorgan5074]

+marvin van zon it was, it was called the sandwich Islands after the Earl of Sandwich. that is the place where captain cook died.

[@physsnake]

Moral of the story, feel sorry for the children that will try to draw the flag on paper.

[@niamhowen6279]

Josef Stalin how do you think us Welsh kids felt in school!😂

[@user-yn5nc7ob4d]

Josef Stalin The vary same thing that Cambodian and Bhutanese children feel. 😂

[@jannism1798]

Even though one criteria in how good a flag is designed is whether a child can draw it accurately by head.

[@LoydAvenheart]

Except for the peak one the others failed at vexicology like you can get away if it's a big land mark sometimes but it should be simplified.

[@xrosbeans]

in Vietnam, they have it easy, also the surrender people.

[@roninref5152]

Shoulda went with the Pepe one

[@mroof523]

👍👌🤣 yes

[@1929dude]

lol 😂😂

[@1929dude]

lol 😂😂

[@1929dude]

lol 😂😂

[@ConorDaRobin]

No.

[@aidanw9378]

I think the fern looks best. My favorite is the laser eyed kiwi though

[@Schindlabua]

How do politicians even manage to spend 25 million dollars on such a referendum? Sheesh! The next time they do something like that they should ask me first. I will design fourty flags and walk to all thirty of NZ's citizens to get their vote for a tenth of the price!

[@MsLacieable]

me too hahaha but I'm not from NZ tho awesome country tho!

[@ikeknights]

+Schindlabua Holding elections or referendums is expensive. You have to advertise, hire people to run the referendum, perhaps rent the polling places. And there are plenty of things I can't even think of. That's just the price of democracy. On a whole, 25 million is chump change to a government. NZ's 2015 budget was 74.9 billion, so this referendum is .3% of their budget. They just look under their seat cushions to find it.

[@Schindlabua]

ikeknights Haha yes, this was more of a stab at overly huge bureaucratic apparatuses in general. I've been looking at the most recent elections here in Vienna and it appears we had 1.499 polling places, which is honestly more than I expected, but considering that NZ is 2.5 times Vienna and that on the countryside you probably don't need to rent anything at all, that doesn't warrant a budget like that. I understand that that's just how it goes and that 25 million isn't a whole lot for a government, but in my mind it really shouldn't be _that_ expensive.

[@ikeknights]

Schindlabua I agree it shouldn't be expensive. If I had it my way, here in the US, I would require TV and radio to turn over a percentage of the airwaves to distribute evenly among candidates, so no money had to be spent. In America, the public owns the airwaves, so we have a right to ask for free airtime that benefits the country as a whole. Cable and internet is a different issue as who owns the broadband, but we do own the airwaves.

[@Schindlabua]

ikeknights Cool, I didn't know that!

[@frederickemail9985]

They didn't choose the Laser Shooting OR the Never ending Kiwi flags? What were they thinking down there?

[@ryanchungus8972]

Frederick Email well, they're still attempting to catch Ned Kelly, and that's distracted them.

[@teancrumpets5685]

All the bloods rushing to their heads

[@kylel.9575]

Trust me, I would’ve if it was an option.

[@jennacampagni2454]

idk pepe looked good

[@ethanbrown4656]

they did choose them, this referendum was a distraction to eliminate the people who don't like laser kiwi or infinite kiwi.

[@MrHatoi]

And then the old flag won anyway... what a waste of time...

[@reiseninaba8540]

MrHatoi and money (26 Million dollars for this...)

[@Joesolo13]

You'd think they'd have just tacked on "do you want to change the national flag?" To a normal election and only if yes won held this thing. That'd have been virtually free and had the same effect

[@Serge_82]

Its a imperalist flag, it needs change.

[@_iamjva]

@@Serge_82 no its not

[@HamboThomp]

@@Serge_82 no it shoukd stay the same i love my flag

[@leodahvee]

Jacksfilms should've designed a flag

[@Asidders]

Thanks for not writing "should of"

[@jimbabbbson7653]

🇳🇿 -> 🇬🇧

[@luucvinky2194]

True

[@supercool1312]

That Pennsylvanian guy yes

[@billturner7363]

You have good taste I see

[@RealH0rr0rsh0w]

All of the new flag options look too much like corporate logos.

[@KaoticPhoenix]

Exactly, none of them really represent NZ as much as the current flag does. I mean the silver fern's would be good for the flag though

[@RKNGL]

+Graphic Well what you have preferred an generic flag with horizontal or vertical lines? It's good to see some countries are trying to be original with their flags.

[@Me-ui1zy]

+Kaotic Phoenix Yeah. I have no problem being associated with Australia

[@KaoticPhoenix]

Harry Jamieson Ehhhhhh I'm still up for the flag change. Just pls parliament, change it to something good

[@georgearoyewun4016]

+Graphic The current flag has a story and history, that's one of the things that makes a flag great.

[@QwertyuiopThePie]

So, they'll be voting for a new flag with a fern in it? I guess they just really want to turn over a new leaf.

[@daraj02]

no, just leaf

[@QwertyuiopThePie]

***** You seem to be getting pretty cross.

[@user-xz2yl9yl2f]

+QwertyuiopThePie He's getting Southern Cross.

[@TheHunterE4]

+QwertyuiopThePie Ba-dum tss

[@RileyDaBozz]

+QwertyuiopThePie ba dum Tsss

[@scaleslizard160]

and then new zealand chose to keep the old flag.

[@firepheonix1413]

Money well spent

[@Ajstorm3000]

scales lizard1 the government wanted to change it, all us citizens wanted it to stay the same and they didn’t listen and yet here we are, millions of dollars later with the SAME FLAG

[@SJohnTrombley]

The recursive flag at 1:52 is low key amazing

[@KlaxontheImpailr]

That fractal kiwi flag was awesome

[@thefreshestbean]

#tree kiwi

[@Elpeorvideo]

I agree!

[@cavejohnsonstanaccount4635]

Yeah, but that would be a b*tch to draw

[@vice88]

KepleroGT Why do I see you every where?

[@terrariabookshhelf6317]

KoivuTheHab i do. i’m an artist

[@YusufNasihi]

Red, white, and blue silver fern is the best one.

[@trolleymouse]

+TheAbsoluTurk If you want us to be Pepzealand, sure.

[@YusufNasihi]

+TrolleyMouse It had not even occurred to me. I don't think that's much of a worry.

[@DaveWraptastic]

+TheAbsoluTurk They are all ugly and they all break the universal flag rules with the exception of the peak design; they are too complicated. A 5 year old should be able to draw your flag without a ruler and from memory. Easy, recognizable design. The fern might be a NZ symbol but it doesn't work well for a flag.

[@YusufNasihi]

HandjesBreda Personally, I thought that NZ having special symbols associated with sport (fern) was something Kiwis should be proud of. It shows that the country has a glorious and special history in rugby. But then taking that symbol and applying it to the national flag takes something away from both national symbols. I see what you mean about how difficult it would be to draw. Never mind a ruler. You'd need a protractor or compass.

[@Tytoalba777]

+HandjesBreda Try telling that to Mexico, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, the many flags that include their Coat of Arms/ National Symbol, and many others

[@koka1571]

have you ever considered a red background with a yellow star at the corner? maybe also with a hammer and sickle?

[@capcompass9298]

Hammer & sickle was in the 1970s. Yellow star, red flag will become the flag of the Pacific if we aren't careful.

[@VFChannelArchive]

@@capcompass9298 i thogiht it was a communist flag for a sec

[@MrMeme2006]

USSR flag

[@josephstalin6363]

I will try

[@minhphantrannhat9081]

2 of the countries already have yellow star(s) on a red background. What do you want next?

[@sophiacooper1321]

Oooooh I’m so happy you included the Bermuda flag! I was born there though I know live in America and I get super excited when people in videos and movies mention it because it’s super small and lots of people only know it for the Bermuda Triangle! Thanks so much!

[@mapledoctor3915]

I feel like I'm the only person in New Zealand that supports the change...

[@Aaron-pk9ky]

+Jacob H (MrGAEM) No, there's plenty of us, but we're not moaning and screaming and wasting money we claim to want to save by spoiling ballot papers, then posting it on Twitter so our friends can admire how rebellious we are like we've personally got one over on John Key somehow.

[@KaoticPhoenix]

I do like the idea of changing the flag, but atleast have it something cool :/ Our current flag is good and that's why people want to keep it, if it were changed to something better than I think people would be more supportive towards it

[@RileyDaBozz]

+Jacob H (MrGAEM) i know how you feel

[@noelsoong777]

empty vessels make the most noise.

[@yeoldbritishocelot7915]

Honestly I do care although I would've tart here'd red peak

[@camelCaseFTW]

CGPGrey will love you for your choice of voting system :P

[@SuperSilkyJohnson]

+Don't Be A Script Kiddie Australians use it for their parliamentary voting system.

[@DominoUB]

+Don't Be A Script Kiddie In CGPGrey's video on voting he actually used New Zealand as an example of a "good" system. The birds that he used as representatives were all New Zealand birds. It's the voting system we've used for a while now.

[@benanciomorales-plata4246]

I just hope this video didn't change his mind, for if he were to make a New Zealand Flag Referendum video. Good video though.

[@ihazmineraft666]

+Don't Be A Script Kiddie Thats what i was thinking when i voted but i dont want to change the flag!

[@lam8138]

Tru

[@xaviersaavedra7442]

Weird, I always called New Zealand Australia’s Canada. Because of how well known their neighbor is.

[@BeyondYourDoorstep]

This channel is turning me into a flag geek. I love it.

[@unvergebeneid]

1:49 Uhm, a kiwi shooting lasers from its eyes? Immediate winner, duh!

[@wickedlildevil_1693]

It looks ridiculous it would make a fool of us kiwis

[@kano1179]

Woooooooooosh

[@stagbeetle1050]

1:46 extremely rare pepe

[@kommandanter1980]

stag beetle s h a d i l a y

[@awfullygenericname6783]

stag beetle *1:47

[@xxx_trinity_xxx2695]

That should have been there flag

[@Murcia1061]

@Mäander Politics is not welcome

[@kiandocherty3589]

@@user-dl1bs6lm1g You`re a fucking idiot: Mussolini`s Italy was a monarchy.

[@bandvitromaniaios1307]

1:50 beautifull! I bet this will give nightmares to New Zelands enemies.

[@nobelplayes283]

You are one of my favorite KZbinrs, love your vids

[@everettlogan2433]

$26 mil for a flag referendum, bitch I could set up a vote for it for free.

[@etrom1]

They decided to stick with the old flag anyway so it was all useless

[@GotchaJustin]

I'm not a citizen of NZ, so my opinion does not matter, but I don't know if I like having black on a flag. I liked the red, white, and blue fern

[@Tytoalba777]

Black-white-blue is just not an appeasing color combination, only Estonia pulls it off (I think it's the shade of blue they use). Besides, Red-White-Blue could still link back to their British Heritage

[@kalinsapotato]

Both are hideous. (from New Zealand) I was still against giving old people the vote, because everyone else has to live with their shit decision now.

[@Tytoalba777]

Kalin Soden I'm sure it'd mostly be the older generation that would vote for the older flag. Besides, the Old people would also live with it, maybe not for as long but they'd still have to live with it.

[@piercesto]

+JustinBobcat being a Citizen of New Zealand, and a permanent resident of Australia, I can safely say the Aussies couldn't organize an punch up in a saloon. Besides the New Zealand flag actually predates the Oz one anyway, it could be argued we Aussies should change ours - rather than the other way around. The Issue for me is that the New Zealand flag was once a British Military Ensign, which was later adopted as the flag of the nation; for this and other reasons, including a certain Maori's penchant for chopping down flag poles as a sign of protest, I think NZ has more reason than any nation to remove the Union Jack. Besides, the Canadian Flag no longer has a Union Jack and they are quite happily and staunchly monarchistic. (Well a lot of them are anyway.) FWIW, there is also another island in the Pacific that has the Union Jack on it's flag - well State Flag anyway - and that is Hawaii. Maybe you should ask them sometime about why they still have the Union Jack on their flag?!

[@andyanon4081]

+JustinBobcat Being a citizen of NZ I hate all of the new options. The old flag is the best flag.

[@lizardwizard9729]

BTW in case anyone is wondering they decided to keep the old flag

[@uuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

So the referendum has been long over, and the flag didn't change. Is this like Brexit, where the government promised to do what the voters decided but actually didn't do it? Or did the voters decide against a new flag?

[@ihathtelekinesis]

The current flag won 57-43.

[@uuhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh]

ihathtelekinesis thanks

[@k-leb4671]

So in the end, more people than not did think that the current flag is fine, and most of them probably simultaneously thought that the whole referendum shouldn't have been done in the first place and the money put somewhere more useful and pressing.

[@Proteus_Ridley]

The UK government will do Brexit, it cannot be stopped or civil war could break out. It is that remoaners (name for anti-Brexit salty people) are trying to slow the process down. However, by the end of March, Article 50 will be triggered to start 2 years of negotiations and hopefully, the UK leaves the EU by Summer 2019.

[@georgiykireev9678]

@@Proteus_Ridley how do your chances look now? Not very good, i feel. And a revolution is hopeful thinking. You need a MUCH bigger problem to make the masses rise up. Trust me, I'm Russian, i know. My country is being raped by the government for decades, and no one gives enough fucks about it to show teeth.

[@FruitSmax]

Always great to see a new WonderWhy video pop up in my notifications

[@Vat19Nvjds]

YEEEESSSSSS he uploaded!!!

[@blah6028]

+Vat19Nvjds My thoughts exactly.

[@Yamezzzz]

I don't think it makes it look like a British territory, I think it is a good symbol of showing the culture and history behind the country. Just like almost every other national flag around the world. Fun Fact: New Zealand has more British DNA than Britain itself. The highest in the world.

[@cactusowo1835]

Union Jack simbol on flags are ugly and it seems like every peopple from Australia, NZ, etc, it's just like simple puppets of british. And i know, it's good representing your country with a flag as nice soverign country, wich flag includes meaning from another country, Same as Australia.

[@tacosmexicanstyle7846]

Better to have the union flag in our corner than the American stripes anyway lol. It emphasises distance from the US which ought to be there in more ways than just on the flag

[@HiHi-gn2dw]

JamesTavRule “more British DNA than Britain” 😂 sources?

[@Yamezzzz]

Hāmi Ormsby Yeah it's pretty funny, sources available on any major DNA databank easily found yourself if you're interested, Ancestry, DNA.land , or 23andme (although they use dnaland as sources) if you're not too familiar with DNA as they are quite simple, although DNA.land can go into a lot of detail. Either way, it's because New Zealand is rather isolated and was almost all British people, the UK has become very mixed with European DNA such as Scandinavian, Iberian, French and Italian. Also a lot of Asian people from India and Pakistan. New Zealand has the highest average percentage of DNA purely from Britain lol

[@HiHi-gn2dw]

JamesTavRule www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=11575305

[@RyanGotReal]

The memers in New Zealand tried to rise up.

[@PryorSebastian]

one error, when you described poverty and the housing issue... you showed a upper middle class/rich area of auckland

[@WonderWhy]

+Sebastian Pryor That wasn't a reference to 'poverty', it was a reference to the 'housing issues'. Auckland housing is becoming some of the most expensive in the world.

[@PryorSebastian]

+WonderWhy Haha, I am very aware at how expensive it is, as a young adult it seems next to impossible to own a house in Auckland. Other areas such as Wellington, Christchurch and small towns are still very much affordable, but they lack the work opportunities. thanks for pointing that out

[@ThePivoteer101]

+Sebastian Pryor But the house prices there are astronomical, 2-3 million dollars, for a quarter-acre.

[@FrostGaming1000]

+Niel Relatado Simply comparing? Maybe it will be better formed if it is rather historical reasons for poverty than simply a comparison.

[@Cythil]

+Niel Relatado The distinction has actually decreasing between the two. There is no clear first world and third world any longer. It is a term that pretty much existed to describe the world in the post WWII era during the cold war. (Second world was actually the communist countries.) Still going in to history of this term and how it effect out view of the world is a interesting one. Also how the world has change a lot since the term started to be first used. Also you would be quite surprised to see what countries belonged to 3rd world category when it was originally in use. Neutral countries like Sweden, Ireland and Switzerland where considered to be 3rd world countries. Not what you usually imagine when someone say a 3rd world country. :)

[@georgecataloni4720]

I'm not from NZ, but I think the fern looks kind of dull. But the final 5 only has one koro, and it had to be the dullest colors.

[@kalinsapotato]

Thank you. The general public here are challenged in terms of design, honestly. Now that that rip-off of the PNG flag was voted in, my only hope is that the flag doesn't change.

[@RCSVirginia]

+George Cataloni Yes, I agree. I was surprised that none of final designs appeared to be very good.

[@harryunderhill5041]

+jsebean The Canadian flag has been mentioned many, many times during this referendum as an example of why New Zealand needs a new flag. Of course thanks to Google we can see the dog awful pre-Maple leaf flag they used to have. The current New Zealand flag is no where near as bad, so, no change from me.

[@scootergrant8683]

It was even done mostly by a panel who, if I remember correctly, weren't even of the right sort to work on it.

[@axescilias]

I'm an Aussie and when I see people talking about how similar the flags are, I can understand that, but once you know the actual difference, it's really easy and some people may not think having the union jack in a flag is unique but it looks more unique than other flags... I like the flags the way they are...

[@demos1198]

I know!

[@katerinakemp5701]

I agree oz.

[@stemp2004]

Well said mate ! We have the Union Jack on our flag in Ontario 🇧🇲. Keep history. I love aussie flag too 🇦🇺

[@editsonimovie8681]

2:41 i was listening with headphones on and i heard "brazil, new guinea and some more"

[@italian8874]

This channel uploading regularly would be a dream come true

[@thegoldyeti3192]

+YetiPlays We are twinsies

[@yetigamers761]

+YetiPlays agreed

[@mjag2834]

+Yeti Gamers Oz with all black background with a sheep-white baaaa! (sorry, bar) running through the middle and an orange Sun in the centre.

[@tangyspy]

Like really New Zealand? P.S. Black and White Fern looked badass.

[@unclescott6327]

Dhruv Verma Isi

[@airplaneplustrainguy8143]

Dhruv Verma

[@gabyherrera9212]

This is so true.It is a very nice one.

[@brashlybold8805]

Nope that fern flag is fucking hideous and most citizens were disgusted from this referendum. It was obviously a distraction from our major mental health, horrendous drug/assault rates and housing crisis. The flags were fucking hideous that were elected and shortly after this referendum actually John Key bailed while he could and the National party replaced him which got voted out again in favor of Labour because we want less fucking suicides and to live in a house that someone owns instead of paying rent for our entire lives not a token Maori flag design. Seeing anything to do with this flag shit makes me cringe especially the token white people designed Maori flags and the asymmetrical hideous, random thrown colour palette ones. This referendum was a disgrace. The real sad shit is that the original "un unique" flag actually represents a lot of history and means a lot to the ANZAC descendants as a mark of history and sacrifice from my grandfather. The Gallipoli campaign was a slaughter for the allied forces. Changing the flag now is shitting all over the sacrifices made for the nations liberty to begin with. How would you feel if they suddenly tried to change your countries flag to a fucking kiwi or fern for no reason other than "It will attract more tourists", "We'll get our 5 seconds of fame from the big countries" and the fucking worst justification ever "It looks to similar too Australias."

[@shmadie_5668]

But it didn't have Britain in the corner so it makes me sad

[@emiriye]

I loved the silver fern with red white and blue. It's so perfect...

[@andyjenner3097]

@4:30 I completely agree with the order in which the referendums took place, though. Otherwise it would have ended in yet another Brexit situation ;D When people know what their new flag would be when voting for the new one, then their could be no complaints afterwards. Imagine people made the descision to change the flag first, but once they vote on the actual design, it turns out to displease a majority of pro-change voters: Drama would be big. That way everyone who voted yes actually knew what they were voting for =3 They were voting for an alternative ("The silver farne on our flag"), and not an idea ("Change our flag to ?!?!?"). That's where the Brexit referendum went wrong. They voted on an idea ("Leave the EU") and not on a concrete plan as to how this would happen.

[@accursedcursive4935]

I have _never_ heard the term "Australia's Australia". I don't even see how it makes sense.

[@surpremelysmokeypotatotowe1591]

accursedCursive We'll it's New Zealand. It's basically the Australia of Australia.

[@willtattersall1940]

accursedCursive well you see, it's New Zealand, therefore it must be the Australia of Australia

[@luiscarlosrico2304]

Well... New Zealand is pretty much the Australia of Australia

[@kwerk2011]

It's important to understand that every country has Australia. Australia didn't want to be left out, therefore New Zealand is naturally Australia's Australia. New Zealand has an outer island called Chatham Island. Under statute, it is New Zealand's Australia, which of course, makes it Australia's Australia's Australia. It's all ridiculously simple.

[@DINO92AVFC]

It was a joke made by John Oliver in Last Week Tonight. For me it makes sense geographically, as if you look the world map, the Australia is in the bottom right corner (the same way when you look at Australia, New Zealand is in the bottom right corner)

[@delabarcel]

The Red Peak was better

[@Mina4bebo]

Mate the Red Peak dont represent new zealand at all. use your head...

[@coreygeorge1874]

Red peak is ugly as shit mate

[@JellyScrub]

+Marina Kameta its got mountains and it is volcanic

[@Mina4bebo]

well its just stupid, and ugly like corey said lol and it is actual ugly!

[@cybernakulum]

+Corey George And that piece of horrid design that won is supposedly better?

[@prim16]

They used STV voting! Where my CGP Grey boys at?

[@______608]

IRV(Instant Runoff Voting/Alternative Vote/Preferential Voting)

[@Cassie-nd8kb]

Good pronunciation! Thank you!

[@sushanalone]

Its more like Australia's Ireland.

[@ghost_curse]

+sushanalone I was thinking Australia's Canada.

[@ghost_curse]

sushanalone We don't have sheep, but we do have beavers.

[@OuterSpacedVideos]

+sushanalone Surely their fascination with sheep would make them more akin to Australia's Wales?

[@sushanalone]

Outer Spaced They dont have a crappy language of their own though they still speak Kiwinglish.

[@mohamud60]

wait do the two countries share the same laws? i remember a reading a gaming article about a 21 year old new zealand boy filed a petition for getting a edited copy of gta iv cuz of the strict Austrailan laws against violence

[@failureiam9006]

royalty free ukulele.........

[@markos9531]

I mostly like the top right corner, the one left to it, the 3rds from the left in the bottom & middle lines, the 5th from the left in the second lin from the top and the one under i

[@Destructocorps]

To be honest, I think the Union Jack thing is cool, sure they're not a colony anymore, but the flag's got a charm to it, as a remnant of a time when the sea was uncharted territory, where it was the big frontier, and adventure really was adventure.

[@that1valentian769]

An upload? I haven't seen one of these since the Clone Wars.

[@kaedemaciej]

_Ah, I love this new video, as always! I really like all of those flags. I hope that the new flag is chosen because I'd hate all of the citizens to go through all of that and still have the same rather boring flag._

[@Barbarr814]

British people watching "what did we do wrong 😔"

[@willtattersall1940]

Baran P what DID we do wrong? Oh! And 😔

[@mjag2834]

You sold out to the Western World.

[@JustAnotherNamelessGuy]

remove emojis fuckboiz

[@DruggedParrot]

Anglia Alba You're an import. It was and still is Maori land you inhabit, show some goddamn respect and start honoring them too. Died for the flag... Shut the fuck up with your conservative heap of shite spill

[@yeetspageet6707]

Citizen Insane your name certainly suits you, considering how utterly unhinged you must be. And without the British settlers New Zealand would be just another pacific island dump, so be thankful to the British for turning New Zealand into a modern and developed country.

[@troodon1096]

Spoilers: After all the expense and debate, the ultimate decision was just to keep the flag they already had, making the entire exercise pointless. Perfect illustration of politics in general isn't it?

[@simon_patterson]

Troodon not pointless. The process showed that New Zealanders on the whole preferred to keep their old flag, despite the fact that some people had strong opinions to the contrary.

[@DruggedParrot]

Simon Patterson Shows that the white majority are still not ready to honor the rest of the nation.

[@TheTraveller20081]

@@DruggedParrot - the result shows that the _majority_ are happy with the flag. Randomly changing flags to suit the modern era's hatred of history doesn't change history, and breaks a nation's connection with its forebears.

[@naam_loos]

TheTraveller20081 a flags purpose is to represent a country and it’s citizens, it’s not about hatred of history but what it represents nowadays

[@demos1198]

@@simon_patterson pfft no. They should have just let everyone vote on whether or not they wanted to change the flag

[@denzal689]

Here's my vote... 1: Banana 2: Orange 3: Apple 4: Grape 5: Strawberry

[@isaiahbh1214]

1. Strawberry 2. Grape 3. Apple 4. Orange 5. Banana

[@plasmicmapper9773]

1 : Orange 2 : Grape 3: banana 4 : apple 5 : strawberry

[@rheinokatili8120]

1. Apple 2. Orange 3. Grape 4. Banana 5. Strawberry

[@kendomyers]

banana banana apple banana ... banana

[@kendomyers]

+Kenneth Myers oh, and banana

[@gmerson951]

It's only called a Union Jack when it's on a ship. Otherwise, it's the Union Flag.

[@lutella5045]

It's only called a Union Flag when it's on a ship. Otherwise, it's the Union Jack.

[@ThePaperCreater]

Patrick. No.

[@lutella5045]

its a joke you goofballs

[@stickman3214]

Good thing this is in my recommended feed, 3 years late and being explained to a New Zealander.

[@bilge677]

I like the one with the silver fern, red area on the top left and the rest being the cross thing and the blue thing.

[@HisCarlnessI]

Red White and Blue silver fern doesn't leave their history out of the flag, but it's fresh, I like it.

[@MaxwellTornado]

Why on Earth did you have to replace flags with fruits?

[@balazsnagy1319]

+Erik István Fejes I think because those flag versions have too long and boring names to say them quickly and many times

[@MaxwellTornado]

Balázs Nagy Na az látod lehetséges.

[@WonderWhy]

+Erik István Fejes Because I didn't know the results when making that part of the video.

[@MaxwellTornado]

WonderWhy Oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooh.

[@Inkyminkyzizwoz]

+WonderWhy And also probably not to imply any preference towards any of the designs, just as CGPGrey always uses animals rather than actual political parties to explain different voting systems!

[@shruggzdastr8-facedclown]

A US state flag also has the Union Jack (or a version of it)in its canton: Hawaii's. One or more Canadian provincial flags also feature the Union Jack in their cantons, but I can't remember which.

[@dylanmartin7604]

British Colombia

[@jeffsanders1609]

1:12 Fiji didn't end up changing their flag

[@3dsaulgoodman43]

Why?

[@jeffsanders1609]

@@3dsaulgoodman43 During the 2016 Olympics Fiji's Rugby team won the Gold medal. During that time the nation was very proud of their team and there was a lot of national pride for them. The people also loved waving their national flag and draping over their shoulders so they really bonded with it and became proud of it as their flag and not just some flag the British gave them So their government decided it would be inappropriate to change a flag the people had grown to love antonpihl.wordpress.com/2016/10/09/why-fiji-didnt-change-its-flag/

[@hexyellow9873]

​@@3dsaulgoodman43 Someone else said that it was because they won something related to sports and that it would be to disrespectful to change it right after.

[@kalinsapotato]

Hi everyone, I'm from NZ and I thought I'd chuck up my views on this and some random info. I voted for Red Peak and I will be voting for the current flag. Why? Vexililogical value! None of the other flags really had any. (Personally I'm just glad that the red/white/blue fern is gone, but the other copy of Papua New Guinea's flag has been chosen instead, so I'm still voting against change in the referendum. Something a lot of people here talked about after it was too late was the issue of giving old people the vote (something I am against for a flag vote for many reasons) and parents giving their vote to their children. Another issue with this is the key issue with democratic processing: everyone can vote... based on their age. It didn't matter how much design experience one has. Speaking of which, the committee contained zero designers which was a piss-poor decision in my eyes. The other thing I should mention was the original referendum for flag change which was ignored in the end anyway. 70% of voters were in opposition to the flag. My bet is that now that there is a winner of the first referendum, the people that didn't vote for the RBW fern flag are likely just going to vote against it anyway sort of making this look like an egg on Key's face... that twat.

[@Aaron-pk9ky]

+Kalin Soden Because nobody cares about vexililogical value. Why would we? We want a symbol to represent NZ, something we can take pride in. Not something we need a short essay to explain, that looks ugly as shit despite it's technical appeal.

[@adrio97]

+Kalin Soden Hi Kalin. I'm from Australia and this is just my opinion. I would have voted for Red Peak too. I currently study a design related degree and I think the Red Peak has the most design thought behind it. That being said, I am still holding onto hope that Kiwis vote to change the flag, even though I am not the biggest fan of the flag that has been chosen as an alternative. For me it is not so much a matter of design as it is about the principle of having the Union Jack in the canton of the flag. Consider what that symbolises and what that communicates to others. In the end a flag is supposed to be a representation of a nation to other nations. I know this opens up a can of worms... becoming a republic and ridding of our ties with the UK... but in the end I just simply do not identify with the Union Jack and could never vote to keep it. I hope New Zealand changes its flag so we can do so here too.

[@julkkis666]

+Alan Smithee your mom is ugly. yet we still need her to explain why you are just as ugly. this is why they should keep their old flag.

[@julkkis666]

+Kalin Soden m8, you live in a democracy (i hope you still do, anyways). everyone has to have the possibility to vote. no matter how "Oldie" they are. the flag will represent them too m8. not just you m8.

[@kalinsapotato]

+julkkis666 Yeah but the difference is that I will live to see the change and a 106 year old would probably not.

[@ghost_curse]

I see that New Zealand is going the way of Canada and finally getting rid of the union jack. Your turn, Australia. Join us!

[@st3v0s]

+monkeystandoffsucks No thanks.

[@ServiceOrientedArchitecture]

+monkeystandoffsucks Current polling is about 60:40 in favour of the old flag. It's probably not gonna change.

[@ghost_curse]

Primarch Alpharius We did. We had the union jack on our flag until 1965. The current flag was decided on in a similar way to what New Zealand is doing.

[@Litany_of_Fury]

monkeystandoffsucks My bad confusing my history with something else.

[@hazz569]

+mugy7 Oh don't you worry alot can change in 3 months. And the pro-change support will only get bigger. Come join us on the right side of history.

[@gabrielle.s1896]

God, the Scottish accent is wonderful. Also, great video!

[@pendrewluo8327]

I don't like the Scottish accent because it's so vage and difficult to hear. : (

[@laurencebasturkmen1395]

I’m a New Zealand citizen so thanks for not forgeting my country

[@brucereid3081]

i know what i am voting for i am voting for the current flag

[@souphead4742]

I was thinking about how terrible the designs were until I realized Im Canadian and we went with a leaf as well.... and a leaf that isnt even unique to our country

[@LyricalDJ]

On the other hand.. whenever I see a maple leaf, I think of Canada. And I've never been to Canada (although family of mine live there). That, and while there are plenty of red-and-white flags, I can't recall having seen one which I'd confuse with Canada's, because of the maple leaf. ;o) To comment on the New Zealand flags (and yes, I know the referenda are all over and done): I like the black, personally. A lot more than the blue used in the flag that won the first referendum. Also, kind of surprised there were no designs combining the fern and the koru shapes. Or, say, a mountain/wave shape. But heck, what would actually be a nice-looking design that's also easily distinguisable and useable as a flag? It would also have to not be too far-fetched. The mountain design, for example, while okay makes me think of a tourist or camping organisation. Especially with the three colours used that way. But you could put that in the canton, maybe. Or add in more colours or distinguishable bits in a different way. On the other hand, putting all or too many of the designs in would be messy.. I think I'd start with the colours. So, maybe black, white and green? Or black, white and blue? Then maybe look at how you want to divide the flag if you want to go a more traditional route, or a larger symbol then see if you can add a canton or some such. But in the end, as much fun as it is to think about I'll have to agree with the New Zealanders saying that, really, how big of an issue is this anyway? And how on earth could this cost so much money?

[@steijny]

Your flag looks great mate.

[@jorelemes]

i gotta tell ya the canadian flag during the dominion era, in ww2 and before, was so much better than the current one.

[@greatestever8825]

But the leaf is what makes your flag more distinguishable amongst other countries and when people think of the Maple leaf they'll instantly think of Canada and that's why I think our country should've definitely went with the Silver Fern

[@polyboy8177]

Your flag is good and recognisable

[@amero3577]

1:57 the second last flag looks nice and the one on the 4th coloum, 6 row looks rpetty nice

[@ParasaurolophusEwan]

In most of my stories I make up, the new Zealander flag is a mix. Basically the current flag but with black on top backround and blue on the bottom (with the silver furn under the Union jack)

[@rsp9238]

Ik a flag that would look bad ass and have symbols of both heritages. Basically the black white and blue silver fern flag with the black replaced for a Union Jack overlapping the silver fern. You can change around with colours also.

[@blakebabcock8890]

Anonymous Killer Destroyer yeah!

[@makarandparab918]

I was watching this video very curious, I like that black and blue fern, then I realized this video is 3 years old and new Zealand hasn't changed their flag yet

[@chairmybowl835]

It was all propaganda, to cover up the union jack flag and their assumption that their flag holds or heralds any jurisdiction in Nz since the so called lowering of the United tribes flag and the raising of the Union Jack in 1840 not long after the ToW was signed.

[@johnm2345]

When you were giving examples for countries with the southern cross 2:30 when you said Somoa I thought you said some more

[@______608]

Not just NZ, but even Fiji didn't change their flag...

[@1001millwall]

The Union Jack is only the jack when flown at see like on a boat

[@louisbeerreviews8964]

It’s the Union flag

[@weejockpoopongmacplop6726]

The original flag looks better than all the replacements.

[@patrickisoncrack4653]

1:46 what a piece of art we need this as our flag

[@harrison85]

My favorite is the blue and red one with the white fern with the red/white starred cross out of those new 5

[@jestpassinthru9915]

3 year old video recommended to me lol Glad you decided to keep your flag it's cool we see it and know it's New Zealands flag ..those other ones on offer just looked cringe and tacky.

[@squattinggopnik950]

Personally the red peak is the most appealing

[@tuxedo_productions]

I personally like the red peak, but the union jack flag design in the end was kept 56:43

[@JYMAHJAMES]

3:20 literally looks like a company logo, glad they didn't change it

[@councilestateproduct]

It's an honour and a privelage to have the Union incorporated into national flags,i'm glad NZ ultimately agreed to keep it.

[@discollife]

Shut up brit

[@thatvexiol]

@@discollife ur ancestors were british(＊￣︶￣＊)

[@unlockedaccount]

it’s not an honour who do you think u are 😂😂😂

[@councilestateproduct]

Maybe not to you plebs who were once our colonies but for us it's part of our glorious history. 🇦🇨🇦🇮🇦🇺🇧🇲🇨🇰🇫🇯🇫🇰🇬🇸🇭🇲🇮🇴🇰🇾🇲🇸🇳🇺🇳🇿🇵🇳🇹🇦🇹🇨🇹🇻🇻🇬 and of course the gaffer🇬🇧 🙄

[@Justaguy10723]

@@councilestateproduct Why do newzealand peeps like under Britishers. A very weird kink

[@markhenley3097]

South Africa had a Dutch and British flag when it were fully independent. There's nothing wrong in honouring your ancestors.

[@thedukeofwellington2754]

Semih Sahin For most countries the population is the indigenous population.

[@Hannodb1961]

It sucks growing up, not knowing anything about politics, thinking your flag is the most beautiful flag in the world, and then not only do they change it, the self-rightious leftists turn your beautiful old flag into a symbol of hate.

[@DruggedParrot]

Yes, nothing wrong with honoring the white ancestors and forgetting or even honoring the native Maori people.

[@TheTraveller20081]

@@DruggedParrot - would that be the Maori people who's ancestors were just as much explorers, immigrants and settlers as the white people? (Just a few hundred years earlier and much less successful at nation-building.)

[@polyboy8177]

TheTraveller20081 except Maori were on NZ first and stayed for hundreds of years. Now they're being bred out by white people, same with Australia I haven't seen an aboriginal in 3 years yet they've been here 50,000+ years

[@pedrorodrigues5908]

The southern cross is also in the Flag of the Federated States of Micronesia, for you to know.

[@NatjoOfficial]

4:05 This picture with the caption "Poverty and Housing issues" seriously cracked me the fuck up. Yes, this area is in Auckland where the housing crisis is at it's worse but this is a picture of Devonport taken from Mount Victoria. I live there. And I can 100% assure you that if you're living in Devonport that you are probably not being affected by the housing crisis since a good majority of the houses sell over 1 million NZD meaning you have to be bloody rich to live here. (I accidentally flexed but I live in a house that costed 600,000 to buy with my parents, so I guess it all equals out.)

[@TheOwlGilga]

Here is my list. 1. Apple 2. Not a fruit. 3. Not a fruit. 4. Not a fruit. 5. Not a fruit.

[@AgustinGonzalez-rx7sz]

Oranges are fruits...

[@iinixiaa]

they are all fruits

[@finlay8781]

@@iinixiaa except banana

[@calebchacon8977]

They are all fruits, banana too. Banana is considered a berry though, so I can see where you got the confusion.

[@conniekai]

1:46 the best

[@FellowRabbit]

Man that blue and white one at 1:43 was really well-designed. Shame it didn't even make it to the top 40.

[@grizzy-thekiwi1144]

oh this was a fun time in new zealand history. the kiwi laser flag was a gem

[@isaacbakan1295]

The black and white kuru looks awesome. It would be so stylish simple and different compared to any other flags in the world almost looks like something someone would get as a tattoo

[@wickedlildevil_1693]

Looked boring to me too plain

[@wickedlildevil_1693]

Btw it's koru

[@mongkoktakeaway]

I am from NZ and am interested by reading everyones comment. Kiwis love the black color, even though many think it is dull---for me it is absolutely 100% the color that represents us as a nation (especially in sporting, which I'd say is a huge part of our culture). Although this flag referendum is a smokescreen covering up the TPPA agreement that we are not allowed to vote on, we have no ability to convey our feelings as a nation over and is forever being negotiated as a back-room deal......a great way to cover it up is by giving us something to actually talk about. John Keys reasoning for wanting to change the flag was "because I want to leave a legacy"...what a jerk.

[@suburbanmoscow9067]

+Matt M Sounds surprisingly similar to the trans-atlantic partnership we agreed to by simply daring to grow up in europe. My special one is the bird trying to x-ray the leaf with less success!

[@godzofice2143]

The QR code on 5:06 is Never gonna give you up.... nice

[@nickpapadopoulos1353]

Did you add the flag of the Cook islands among those that have the Union Jack in its canton...?

[@BlueLiberty20]

From an English perspective, I thought the final choice flag was very cool and fitting.

[@saturnproductions1827]

The meme ones should have won lol

[@axiomaticisak4350]

Preferential voting is also called single transferable vote

[@billywhizz09]

I haven't watched the video but to answer the thumbnail I would love the middle swirly one