Kiwis show strong interest in future flag
Hon Bill English
Deputy Prime Minister
11 December 2015
Deputy Prime Minister Bill English says the preliminary results of the first referendum to decide on the future of the
New Zealand flag show strong public interest.
The first of the two postal referendums closed today and the Electoral Commission has indicated the Silver Fern (Black,
White and Blue) flag by designer Kyle Lockwood as the preliminary winner.
The Commission says a total of 1,527,042 votes were cast, with voter turnout of 48 per cent.
“While this is a preliminary result, New Zealanders can now turn their attention to deciding whether to keep the current
flag, or replace it,” Mr English says.
“We’ll know definitively once the Electoral Commission announces the official result on 15 December.”
That design will then proceed to the second, binding referendum held between the 3rd and 24th of March 2016.
ENDS