2015–16 New Zealand flag referendums design well-liked by supporters of changing the New Zealand flag who disapprove of the silver fern flag and other similar proposed designs. Despite not being selected by the official Flag Consideration Panel, the Red Peak design was supported by a grassroots social media campaign. An online petition to support inclusion of the flag design as an option for the referendum gained support from 50,000 petitioners in fewer than two weeks, and was handed over to Parliament by David Seymour on 16 September 2015. On 23 September, the Green Party MP Gareth Hughes attempted to introduce a bill to parliament to
2015–16 New Zealand flag referendums would you prefer? The first referendum started on 20 November 2015 with voting closing three weeks later on 11 December 2015. Preliminary results were released on the night of 11 December; official results were declared on 15 December. Using the preferential voting system, it asked voters to rank the five shortlisted flag alternatives in order of preference. The most popular design would contend with the current national flag in the second referendum. Opponents of flag change encouraged members of the public to abstain from voting, render the voting paper invalid or strategically vote for the worst alternative flag as a