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
Flag of the Solomon Islands design stirred up much debate in the community and it too was scrapped. Ultimately, the last design was created by a New Zealander teaching at the King George VI School, in the eastern part of the capital Honiara. This was in spite of the fact that preference was supposed to be given to local submissions by Solomon Islanders. The stars stood for the country's provinces and not the Southern Cross, unlike the flags of nearby Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and Samoa. It was ratified as the new flag of the islands on 18 November 1977, eight months before