2015–16 New Zealand flag referendums Mallard this shows that the flag change process is suffering from "total spin" and that the panel is pushing to change the flag in breach of its mandate to be neutral. Documents revealed that Flag Consideration Panel judge Julie Christie is a board member of the New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) body "New Zealand Story" where she "had formally agreed to support the use of the NZ Way Fern Mark in any flag design". This fern design ended up as one of the shortlist entries. Christie had declared this as a potential conflict of interest but it was dismissed
2015–16 New Zealand flag referendums Act. A person convicted of personation is liable to up to two years' imprisonment and a fine up to $40,000, and carries a mandatory disqualification from enrolling or voting for three years. 2015–16 New Zealand flag referendums Two New Zealand flag referendums were held by the New Zealand government in November/December 2015 and March 2016 and resulted in the retention of the current flag of New Zealand. The first referendum to determine the preferred alternative flag took place between 20 November and 11 December 2015 and asked, "If the New Zealand flag changes, which flag would you prefer?" Results show