Erin Baker, Ian Mune & Chris Morrison join NZflag.com debate

Former world triathlete champion Erin Baker; Actor, Film Director and writer Ian Mune; and Chris Morrison, Founder & Managing Director of Phoenix Organics and Chairman of The Sustainable Business Network, are the latest New Zealand leaders to endorse changing New Zealand's flag.

Erin Baker, one of the greatest multi-sport athletes ever, is a passionate supporter of change. "New Zealand requires a flag which each and every New Zealander can instantly recognise and can feel proud of. I would be very surprised if I am the only New Zealander that never quite knows how many stars we have, nor feels any ownership of it."

Ian Mune, one of New Zealand's most successful actors, most recently as Bounder in Lord of The Rings, quipped challengingly "Why a flag? To run up the mast, to drape over a coffin, to unfurl in the breeze, to gather around, to say "This is us." So who are we? According to our current flag, a bunch of poms in the South Pacific. We stand by Australia like two kids going to school, our flags almost identical, and both looking backwards, still acknowledging our parents. We're grown-ups now. Let's buy our own clothes. And if we want the stars, we better get in quick or the Aussies will pinch it."

Chris Morrison, environmentalist and promoter of organic products through his successful Waitakere based Phoenix Organics sees value in what a new flag could represent for new Zealand : "I see a future for New Zealand as world leaders in sustainability - we can create a unique country with a myriad of entrepreneurial and internationally significant companies, based on values around environmental protection, equity, diversity and justness.

We need a new flag to represent this vision. The present one does not inspire us or reflect our uniqueness."

Over fifty prominent kiwis across a range of disciplines including sports, the arts, education, religion and business are pushing for a referendum on a new national flag.

Their names, photographs and endorsements appear on the www.nzflag.com website http://www.nzflag.com/endorsements.cfm and include Olympic gold medallist, Barbara Kendall; world champion squash player Susan Devoy; musician, Neil Finn, and businessmen Stephen Tindall, Dick Hubbard and Chris Liddell.

The www.NZFlag.com Trust, established in April seeks to gather around 300,000 signatures early next year to hold a referendum asking New Zealanders to have their say on whether New Zealand should change its flag.

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