Silver Fern Tops New Zealand Flag Referendum Friday Dec 11,2015

 

New Zealanders have chosen a silver fern on a black-and-blue background as their preferred option if the South Pacific nation decides to dump Britain's Union Jack from it national banner, officials said today.

The design beat four other contenders in a nation-wide referendum, according to preliminary results released by the New Zealand Electoral Commission.

Simply titled "Silver Fern (Black, White and Blue)", the design will go head-to-head with the existing flag in a second referendum in March 2016
"While this is a preliminary result, New Zealanders can now turn their attention to deciding whether to keep the current flag, or replace it," Deputy Prime Minister Bill English said.

Prime Minister John Key has led the push for reform, saying the existing ensign is a colonial relic that is too easily confused with Australia's flag