Monday, February 29, 2016



Last chance? Hardly

With the public rejecting his vanity flag project, John Key is now resorting to threats, declaring that this is our "last opportunity" to change the flag:

The current referendum on New Zealand's flag will be the last opportunity Kiwis have to make a change unless the country becomes a republic, Prime Minister John Key says.

[...]

If Kiwis did not vote in favour of change now, they would not get another opportunity until New Zealand became a republic, which Key believed would not happen during his lifetime.


"Last chance" is a common pressure sales tactic used by shysters like Key to force people to buy something they don't really want - but in a democracy, there's always another chance. And I'll take the chance of a future better flag over John Key's shit one any day.

Rather than a last chance, this referendum is the start of a conversation. Its seen a lot of people think about what sort of a flag they want, and what they'd accept. And while Key's "independent" panel strapped the chicken and gave him exactly what he wanted, we saw a genuine alternative bubble up from the grass roots to make it into third place, ahead of two of the choices imposed on us by Key's "experts". Once Key's National Fern is consigned to the dustbin of history, we can continue that process, and see what else bubbles up. And next time, whether driven by a shift to a republic or an independent push, hopefully we'll get a chance for a genuine choice, rather than a strapped chicken referendum aimed at endorsing the Prime Minister's personal preference and giving him a "legacy".