Coat of arms of New Zealand 1908 received 78 designs. The winning entry was a design by James McDonald, a draughtsman in the Department of Tourist and Health Resorts. Some adjustments were made to the design, and the arms were granted by Royal Warrant of King George V on 26 August 1911. The warrant was published in the "New Zealand Gazette" of 11 January 1912. The arms have remained similar to the original design, with minor changes made in 1956. The central shield has remained unaltered since 1911. It comprises a quartered shield containing in the first quarter four stars representing the Southern Cross constellation (as
Southern Cross Cable Zealand Green Party co-leader, stated that an interception point was being established on the Southern Cross Cable. Norman said that as the cable is the only point of telecommunications access from New Zealand, this would allow the Government to spy on all phone calls and internet traffic from New Zealand. Norman's claims followed the revelation that an engineer from the NSA had visited New Zealand earlier in the year to discuss how to intercept traffic on the Southern Cross cable. The office of John Key, New Zealand Prime Minister, denied the claims but admitted that they were negotiating a "cable