New Zealand flag designs take leaf from rugby union

WELLINGTON (AFP) – New Zealanders were presented with four options for a new flag on Tuesday, three of them depicting a silver fern leaf similar to that used on the All Blacks rugby jersey.

The flags were whittled down from more than 10,000 entries in a government-sponsored effort to find an alternative to New Zealand's current banner, which features Britain's Union Jack in the corner.

Three of the designs show the silver fern leaf, the informal national emblem, with various backgrounds combining red, blue, black and white.

The fourth depicts a spiraling black-and-white koru, or fern frond, a traditional Maori symbol of new life and creation.

Kiwis will pick their favorite among the four at a referendum later this year and the winner will then go headto-head against the existing flag in a second vote next March.

Project head John Burrows said the aim was to find a flag that was ''unmistakably New Zealand''.

''It should celebrate us as a progressive, inclusive nation that's connected to its environment, has a sense of its past and a vision of its future,'' he said.

''For well over a century, the fern's been an iconic and instantly recognizable symbol of New Zealand, it's been a very strong part of our heritage and it works so well on a flag.''

Prime Minister John Key, who initiated the push for a change, has made clear that he favors a silver fern design, saying it is as distinctively New Zealand as the maple leaf is for Canada.

''We are a very proud and passionate nation but we don't utilize our current flag to demonstrate the love we have of our country,'' he told Fairfax New Zealand on Tuesday.