New Zealand flag debate and the New Zealand Tourism Board in 1998, and ex-Prime Minister John Key in 2010. Key later changed his preference to Kyle Lockwood's "Silver Fern (Red, White & Blue)" design, due to the similarity of the silver fern flag with the Jihadist black flag, used by Islamic extremist groups such as ISIL. Amongst the public, polls have shown that the silver fern is the most preferred alternative design for a new national flag. However, the New Zealand Flag Institute criticises the black and white silver fern design as the logo of some of New Zealand's sporting teams rather than the
New Zealand flag debate and decide on a final shortlist of four suitable options for the first referendum. Public consultation took place between May and June 2015. As part of the public engagement process, flag designs and symbolism/value suggestions were solicited until 16 July, which resulted in a total of 10,292 design suggestions. From the submitted designs, the Flag Consideration Panel selected an initial longlist of 40 (publicly revealed on 10 August), then a final shortlist of 4 (publicly revealed on 1 September) to contend in the first referendum. After public disappointment with the official shortlist, a social media campaign aimed to add the