New Zealanders given chance to design new national flag

The Prime Minister said the current flag represents the colonial era

New Zealanders have the chance to re-design the nation's flag (BULENT KILIC/AFP/Getty Images)

New Zealanders are being given the opportunity to design a new national flag.

The ideas will be put to a panel tasked with whittling down entries into a shortlist, ready for a referendum later in the year. The vote is likely to cost just under $NZ26m (£13million), the Australian Associated Press reported.

Those contributing to the competition are asked to first consider what the flag signifies to them, and reflect on the opinions of others shared on the StandFor website.

After Kiwis have considered what they want the flag to represent, they can upload entries to a dedicated website.

Prime Minister John Key seized the chance to push the project at the annual Waitangi Day on 6 February, during which New Zealanders which marks the singing of the treating which founded the nation in 1840.

He previously argued that the current flag, which features Britain's Union Flag, harks back to the country's bygone colonial era and is too similar to Australia’s parchment, according to BBC News.

In order to choose the final product, voters will take part in a two-stage postal vote which will firstly see them rank alternative flags. This will be followed by a second ballot in March 2016, when voters will decide whether to keep the nation’s current flag, or opt for a fresh look.

However, the popularity of the initiative remains unclear, as only a quarter of people surveyed by the New Zealand Herald newspaper supported changing the flag.