English Bill: New Zealand Flag Referendums Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeEnglish Bill: New Zealand Flag Referendums Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 12 March 2015. Volume:703;Page:2217. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]Hon BILL ENGLISH (Deputy Prime Minister): I move That the New Zealand Flag Referendums Bill be now read a first time. I nominate the Justice and Electoral Committee to consider the bill. At the appropriate time I intend to move that the bill be reported back to the House by 29 July 2015. The Government has made a commitment to hold a binding referendum on the New Zealand flag well before the 2017 general election. As the Prime Minister said last year it is now an appropriate time for the debate about the New Zealand flag to be resolved through a careful and considered process the main feature of which is to enable New Zealanders to make the decision.Legislation is required to create a binding referendum process. The Government has taken a non-partisan approach to this legislation and to the flag consideration process. This bill has been shaped by a cross-party group of MPs working with initial proposals set forward by Cabinet. The bill sets out the structure the procedures and the requirements for the referendums; and the requirements for voters advertisers and the Electoral Commission because it is a unique process. The referendum process will uphold the decision of New Zealanders whether they vote for a new flag ultimately or vote to keep the flag that we have. If a majority of voters choose a new flag the bill provides for this to become the official flag of New Zealand by amending the Flags Emblems and Names Protection Act 1981. So it puts those provisions in place which does not drive any particular outcome but anticipates a change in the flag.The Government carefully considered the options around the referendum process and decided on a two-stage postal process. This begins with a vote on alternative flag designs and concludes with a clear choice between the current New Zealand flag and the most preferred alternative design. The first referendum is needed to choose which alternative flag is most preferred by New Zealanders including by those who may ultimately vote against change. The two-stage process means that when voters choose whether to change our flag they know what the alternative is. The dates of the referendums will be confirmed by Order in Council which offers some flexibility. The first referendum though is currently planned for November/December this year and the second referendum planned for March 2016—and this timetable has been discussed by the cross-party group.The decision about the voting systems was also made essentially by the cross-party group. They disagreed with the original proposal put forward by Cabinet and Cabinet went with the cross-party group’s view. The first referendum will use preferential voting and will ask New Zealanders to rank four alternative flag designs. They will be free to rank as many or as few flags as they wish. Preferential voting helps ensure that the alternative flag goes through with a majority support of voters’ preferences. This system means that all voters can help choose the most preferred alternative flag so that the second referendum is really between a representative view and the current flag. Regardless of how a voter ranks designs in the first referendum they will be able to make a clear choice between the current flag and a new flag in the second referendum. I am sure some people who are strongly motivated will vote for the worst-looking flag in the first referendum to make sure that it loses in the second one. Those options are freely available to every New Zealander.On this point I have seen in a media report that Labour Party members may not support the bill because they think that at the time of the first referendum people should say whether or not they want change. This issue has been canvassed and the view set out in this bill is that a basic tenet of voting is that you need to know what you are voting for or against. No one is going to know at the time of the first referendum what an alternative New Zealand flag will look like. They will know that it could be any one of four options but that is quite different from having a simple alternative to the current flag. So the bill proposes referendums that are the right way around—first voters choose an alternative flag design from the four that are on offer and then they choose between the alternative and the current flag. The plan that says whether or not you want the current flag without knowing what the alternative is just does not seem feasible. You would be voting blind for or against a change to the current flag. I have to say that for myself like many New Zealanders I am kind of biased in favour of the current flag because I know it but I am keen to see the alternative in order to decide whether to vote for change. So the voting paper and the wording of the questions are set out in this bill.The four alternative flag designs for the first referendum will be determined through consultation with the public. I must stress that that consultation will be organised and led by an independent panel. The Flag Consideration Panel will recommend flag designs to me as the responsible Minister and Cabinet will confirm the four options to be added to the first referendum voting paper by Order in Council. I think the independence of that process is absolutely vital. I have worked with the chair of the Flag Consideration Panel in the past and I am sure that the professor will make sure it remains independent because the process here is as important as the result. The Flag Consideration Panel’s consultation and how it will choose the shortlist of designs is not part of this bill. It is not a matter for Parliament and it is not a matter for Cabinet; it is a matter for the panel. The submission of flag designs to the panel will be separate from the select committee stage for this bill. The bill simply provides that the designs recommended by the panel and confirmed by Cabinet are inserted into the voting paper by Order in Council. The select committee stage will give the public the opportunity to make submissions about the referendumprocess itself not about flag designs although I am sure that will become part of the discussion.The Electoral Commission will discuss these referendums and it has robust systems in place. A District Court judge will observe the secure processing and counting of the votes. The votes will be processed centrally as they are returned over a 3-week postal voting period. The order of the flags on the voting paper will be determined randomly. All eligible voters on the electoral roll will be able to vote. As with elections voters who are overseas will also be able to participate.The bill also sets out rules for the regulation ofreferendumadvertising. The Government on the recommendation of the cross-party group has decided that this regulation should not be heavy-handed. An advertiser will not be subject to rules or limits on its spending. The only requirement will be that promotional advertisements contain a promoter statement. This requirement will not apply to the display of the current New Zealand flag or alternative designs that are on the voting paper unless they are accompanied by further promotional material about voting in the referendums. People should be free to display the flag of their country unencumbered. This will allow for wide public discussion on the flag without unnecessarily restricting freedom of expression. If voters choose to change the flag this will trigger provisions in the bill to change to the new flag within 6 months. It is important that people do not see these provisions in the bill as predetermining the outcome of the referendum; they simply put in place the mechanism needed if the flag changes. If it does not those mechanisms will not be required. The only legal requirements for the use of the official flag relate to drivers’ licences and New Zealand - registered ships. If the flag changes there will be a further 6-month transitional period.I am grateful for the input of members from other parties who participated in the development of this bill which will give New Zealanders a chance to have their say on a vital symbol of nationhood. I suspect that once the Cricket World Cup passes which has excited strong feelings of patriotism and hopefully more this will become a matter of some wide public interest. I welcome the public debate and consideration as this bill passes through the select committee. I commend this bill to the House.