New Zealand flag debate flag with a silver fern on the fly. The proposal attracted little support. In 1988, Minister of Foreign Affairs Russell Marshall made a call for a flag change, which also had little effect. The "New Zealand Listener" magazine held a flag design contest in 1989, attracting nearly 600 entries. Out of the seven semi-finalists, which included the national flag and the United Tribes Flag, the national flag won with a minority vote of 45.6%. In February 1992, the former Minister of Māori Affairs, Matiu Rata, called for a flag change "to re-establish our national identity". In 1998, Prime Minister Jenny
Flag of the Governor-General of New Zealand rather than a representative of the British government. The New Zealand badge was replaced by the Royal Crest. The words "Dominion of New Zealand" were displayed on a gold scroll beneath the badge. As neither Governor-General Lord Bledisloe nor his ministers were sympathetic to the change, the old flag was retained, and the new flag was not flown until after Lord Galway's arrival in 1937. Minor stylistic changes were made around 1953, including changing the scroll's text to simply "New Zealand", since New Zealand was no longer styled as a Dominion. On 2 June 2008 a new design was adopted,