Flag of New Zealand majority of 65 percent of votes in Parliament before any future legislation could change the flag. The Bill passed its first reading but was defeated at its second reading, 26 votes to 37. In 1998 Prime Minister Jenny Shipley backed Cultural Affairs Minister Marie Hasler's call for the flag to be changed. Shipley, along with the New Zealand Tourism Board, backed the quasi-national silver fern flag, using a white silver fern on a black background as a possible alternative flag, along the lines of the Canadian Maple Leaf flag. On 5 August 2010 Labour list MP Charles Chauvel introduced a
Flag of New Zealand to a position recognisably at half-mast to avoid the appearance of a flag which has accidentally fallen away from the top of the flagpole. The flag should be at least its own height from the top of the flagpole. The need for a flag of New Zealand first became clear when the trading ship "Sir George Murray", built in the Hokianga, was seized by Customs officials in the port of Sydney. The ship had been sailing without a flag, a violation of British navigation laws. New Zealand was not a colony at the time and had no flag. Among the