Flag of New Zealand the Labour Party at their national conference. In November 1979 Minister of Internal Affairs Allan Highet suggested that the design of the flag should be changed, and sought an artist to design a new flag with a silver fern on the fly, but the proposal attracted little support. In March 1994 Prime Minister Jim Bolger made statements supporting a move towards a republic. In response Christian Democrat MP Graeme Lee introduced a Flags, Anthems, Emblems, and Names Protection Amendment Bill. If passed, the Bill would have entrenched the Act that governs the flag and added New Zealand's anthems, requiring a
Colony of New Zealand Dominion of New Zealand (although the United Kingdom retained the right to legislate for New Zealand at its request); certain colonial enactments survived for sometime after—the New Zealand Constitution Act 1852 was finally replaced by the Constitution Act 1986. A Royal Proclamation granting New Zealand Dominion status was issued on 26 September 1907. The first flag used by the Colony of New Zealand was the British Union Flag. This began to change with the Colonial Navy Defence Act 1865, which required all ships owned by colonial governments to fly the defaced Royal Navy blue ensign with a colonial badge. New