New Zealand to Vote Over Ditching Union Flag for Silver Fern

New Zealanders are vote to decide whether the country should change its current flag, dropping the British Union Flag for a 'more Kiwi' emblem.

Prime Minister John Key announced a double referendum that, he hopes, will give the antipodean country a new national flag by within two years.

"Our flag is the most important symbol of our national identity and I believe that this is the right time for New Zealanders to consider changing the design to one that better reflects our status as a modern, independent nation," Key said.

According to the plan unveiled by the centre-right leader, a parliamentary committee has come up with several possible alternative designs. Kiwis will then choose their favourite in a first ballot next year.

The winner is to go up against the current flag, which was first used in 1869 and features the Southern Cross star constellation on a blue background with the Union Flag in the top left quarter, in a second referendum in 2016.

The prime minister said the double vote is to cost about 26 million New Zealand dollars (£13m).

Key, who was re-elected for a third term in September, first announced his bid to change New Zealand colours in March, saying he wished the country to adopt the silver fern on a black background emblem made famous by the nation's all-conquering rugby union team.

The prospected change is a divisive matter amid residents. Advocates of the change claim New Zealand's flag gets frequently mixed up with that of neighbouring Australia and is tied too closely to a now distant colonial past.

Others, including many war veterans, argue change would dishonour the memory of those who died under the banner.

In an opinion poll in February, 72% of people opposed ditching the current flag. Another poll in March, however, suggested a more level scenario with 52.6% against the change and 40.6% in favour, with a few undecided.