Flag of New Zealand majority of 65 percent of votes in Parliament before any future legislation could change the flag. The Bill passed its first reading but was defeated at its second reading, 26 votes to 37. In 1998 Prime Minister Jenny Shipley backed Cultural Affairs Minister Marie Hasler's call for the flag to be changed. Shipley, along with the New Zealand Tourism Board, backed the quasi-national silver fern flag, using a white silver fern on a black background as a possible alternative flag, along the lines of the Canadian Maple Leaf flag. On 5 August 2010 Labour list MP Charles Chauvel introduced a
Declaration of the Independence of New Zealand Zealand. The need for a flag of New Zealand first became clear when the merchant ship the "Sir George Murray", built in the Hokianga, was seized by customs officials in the port of Sydney. The ship had been sailing without a flag—a violation of British navigation laws. New Zealand was not a colony at the time and had no flag. The ship's detainment reportedly aroused indignation among the Māori population. Unless a flag was selected, ships would continue to be seized. The flag, amended slightly when officially gazetted, became the first distinctively New Zealand flag. As late as 1900 it