2015–16 New Zealand flag referendums have markedly low attendance. The consideration panel noted strong online engagement with over 850,000 visits to the website and 1,180,000 engagements on social media. The panel reported that feedback found the themes of freedom, history, equality, respect and family to be the most significant to New Zealanders, however it was later revealed that those themes were dwarfed by the amount of feedback critical of the flag change process. From the submitted designs they found the most common colours were white, blue, red, black, and green. The most common elements incorporated into the flag designs were the Southern Cross, silver fern,
New Zealand Flag Institute New Zealand Flag Institute The New Zealand Flag Institute was established in 2005 amidst a campaign by the NZ Flag.com Trust for a referendum to change the New Zealand flag. The campaign to bring about a citizens initiated referendum on the subject subsequently failed. The organisation was founded by Auckland John Cox (1965-2017), a New Zealand vexillolographer and lawyer. The Institute's primary aim is to educate New Zealanders about the history and symbolism of the New Zealand Flag. The Institute also aims to encourage people to understand and appreciate what the flag stands for. It also encourages New Zealanders to