Flag of New Zealand the Labour Party at their national conference. In November 1979 Minister of Internal Affairs Allan Highet suggested that the design of the flag should be changed, and sought an artist to design a new flag with a silver fern on the fly, but the proposal attracted little support. In March 1994 Prime Minister Jim Bolger made statements supporting a move towards a republic. In response Christian Democrat MP Graeme Lee introduced a Flags, Anthems, Emblems, and Names Protection Amendment Bill. If passed, the Bill would have entrenched the Act that governs the flag and added New Zealand's anthems, requiring a
2015–16 New Zealand flag referendums Kiwi, and koru. The main themes incorporated into the designs were Māori culture, nature and history. From the 10,292 submitted designs, the Flag Consideration Panel deliberations resulted in their selection of a 'long list' shortlist of 40 designs (announced to the public on 10 August 2015). On 1 September 2015, the Flag Consideration Panel announced the final four designs to be included in the first referendum. The flag design shortlist was met with negative response from some members of the public, professional designers and vexillologists. The selection was lambasted as unappealing, clichéd, dull and too logo-like. There were complaints that