Predecessor The NZ Flag.com Trust Founder Lloyd Morrison | Formation 2003 (2003) Legal status Non-profit | |
Named after The flag of New Zealand Purpose Campaigning for New Zealanders to change the Flag of New Zealand | ||
Change the NZ Flag is a group campaigning for New Zealanders to change the Flag of New Zealand. The group describes itself as "an independent, non-political, design-neutral society that is committed to building support for, and involvement with, the flag change process."
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The group is affiliated with Ausflag, a trust promoting a redesign of the Flag of Australia. Originally the NZ Flag.com Trust, the group formed in 2015 to campaign in the referendums on the issue.
History
The group was originally the NZ Flag.com Trust, established in 2003 by Wellington businessman Lloyd Morrison with the goal of bringing about a referendum on the issue.
The Trust was a non-profit charitable trust and relied on donations and proceeds from the sale of merchandise to fund its operation.
Petition to change flag
In January 2005, the Trust launched a petition to bring about a citizens' initiated referendum on the issue. Had it been successful, a referendum would have been held at the 2005 general election. However, the Trust failed to attract enough signatures, and six months after its launch, the petition had been signed by 100,000 people (the signatures of 270,000 - 10 per cent of eligible voters - are required). After Telecom New Zealand and New Zealand Post reneged on an offer to distribute the petition nationwide, the Trust withdrew the petition.
Lloyd Morrison attributed the failure to apathy from the general public, while supporters of New Zealand's current flag attributed the petition's failure to the popularity of that flag.