After two years, $17 million, and the winnowing down of 10,292 flag entries to one finalist, New Zealand voters have decided to stick with their old flag, a blue banner with Britain's Union Jack in the upper left and the Southern Cross constellation on the right. The proposed new national flag kept the Southern Cross but replaced the Union Jack with a silver fern. The national referendum, which ended Thursday, favored the old flag by a preliminary margin of 57 percent to 43 percent.
The referendum was a rare defeat for Prime Minister John Key, who had pushed for a new flag, arguing that the old one was a relic of New Zealand's colonial days and was too similar to Australia's flag. According to the electoral commission, 1.2 million New Zealanders disagreed with him, while 915,008 voted for the Silver Fern. Key took it it stride, tweeting that now that the old flag is the new flag, "I encourage all NZers to use it, embrace it and, more importantly, be proud of it."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
How will the next pope change the Catholic Church?Talking Points Conclaves can be unpredictable
-
Conspiracy theorists circle again following RFK file releaseThe Explainer Both RFK and his brother, President John F. Kennedy, have been the subjects of conspiracies
-
7 equestrian activities for when you feel like horsin' aroundThe Week Recommends These graceful animals make any experience better
-
New Mexico to investigate death of Gene Hackman, wifespeed read The Oscar-winning actor and his wife Betsy Arakawa were found dead in their home with no signs of foul play
-
Giant schnauzer wins top prize at Westminster showSpeed Read Monty won best in show at the 149th Westminster Kennel Club dog show
-
Beyoncé, Kendrick Lamar take top GrammysSpeed Read Beyoncé took home album of the year for 'Cowboy Carter' and Kendrick Lamar's diss track 'Not Like Us' won five awards
-
The Louvre is giving 'Mona Lisa' her own roomSpeed Read The world's most-visited art museum is getting a major renovation
-
Honda and Nissan in merger talksSpeed Read The companies are currently Japan's second and third-biggest automakers, respectively
-
Taylor Swift wraps up record-shattering Eras tourSpeed Read The pop star finally ended her long-running tour in Vancouver, Canada
-
Drake claims illegal boosting, defamationSpeed Read The rapper accused Universal Music of boosting Kendrick Lamar's diss track and said UMG allowed him to be falsely accused of pedophilia
-
'Wicked' and 'Gladiator II' ignite holiday box officeSpeed Read The combination of the two movies revitalized a struggling box office
