Flag of New Zealand flag has often arisen in connection with the issue of republicanism in New Zealand. The Southern Cross constellation is depicted on the flags of other former British colonies, such as the flag of Australia—although in Australia's case there are six all-white stars, while New Zealand's four stars have red centres. The Australian and New Zealand flags are often mistaken for each other, and this confusion has been cited as a reason for adopting a different design. Debate on keeping or changing the New Zealand flag started before May 1973, when a remit to change the flag was voted down by
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