Dean Jacqui: New Zealand Flag Referendums Bill — First ReadingText is incorporated into the Bound VolumeDean Jacqui: New Zealand Flag Referendums Bill — First Reading[Sitting date: 12 March 2015. Volume:703;Page:2221. Text is incorporated into the Bound Volume.]JACQUI DEAN (National—Waitaki): Well if all Labour members can come up with as a reason not to support this bill is that they do not like the way the questions are asked then it seems like a pretty flimsy reason to me. I mean really is that it? Is that the strength of the argument that Labour members could promote—that actually they do not like the order of the questions?Here is how I think about it. If I am going to make a decision about whether or not New Zealand is going to have a change of flag I would like to think that I would be given some context about what I might potentially be voting for or not. And in the first referendum I can withhold that choice and that gives me quite a bit of power actually. I do not know whether the Assistant Speaker has actually thought it through very much to be frank. If I felt really passionately about it I could design a flag myself. How powerful is that? So that is three goes that I have got over this.In the first instance if I felt really really strongly about replicating that little hand-embroidered kiwi that my mum had on her knapsack when she went hitchhiking around the UK 50 years ago—and she felt so proud to be a Kiwi to be a New Zealander—if I felt so proud of that which I do then I could promote that as my idea for the flag. The commission that will be enacted under this bill will be able to evaluate that against all of the other suggestions that come through from fellow New Zealanders. It might be a kiwi like the one on my mum’s knapsack or it might be a silver fern or it might be that wonderful—wonderful—image of a silver fern with the servicemen marching off into the distance: a really poignant symbol for many people of what it means to be a New Zealander and it has been translated into a tattoo and has gone viral around the world. People feel really strongly about this kind of thing.How come I am standing up here in this Parliament for example remembering that my mum had an embroidered kiwi on her knapsack 50 years ago when she went off on her big adventure? Why? Because it meant a lot to her and it means a lot to me. So the flag is a really important aspect of us as New Zealanders defining who we think we are. What is it in our flag that defines who we are? Not only is it when we are remembering the wonderful things that New Zealanders have done for us and by us and to us—not just that—but it is also our outward-facing nature which we do so well in this country. It is our face to the world and to a lot of people it means a lot. So strike one for me is that I have the opportunity which is described in this bill to design my own flag based on what is important to me and to submit it to be part of the consideration.Strike two is the first referendum question. That first referendum question is going to say: “Here are four alternatives. Which one do you like New Zealand?”. We know we have got the old one and here it is in the bill. It is the third flag we have had in our history by the way. So there we are; we have got that one in the bag. We have had it since 1902. It has served us well. We are proud of it. But does it say who we are today? OK so we have that. The question for me and for every other New Zealander—except the Labour Party members because of course they do not want to have a question; they are going to oppose it. Except the Labour Party members because they do not like the way the questions are framed so they are not even going to play with us. Oh well that’s fine. But I as a New Zealander am going to. And when I have my second strike—my second choice—I am going to be able to vote and it is going to be a vote based on four flags that mean a lot to New Zealanders. Well what a wonderful opportunity that is. I am looking forward to thatvery much.As I read the bill very briefly this afternoon I think that that vote is going to happen around May 2016. So that is quite a tight time frame. If you have got a mind to start designing the flag I would get on to it this afternoon. I have got some blank paper; I might do it after this speech. That is my second strike and that is an exciting prospect for all of us because we all have the opportunity to make a choice. If we did not have our flag which we have here in the bill—if we did not have this one which one would we like? Which one most captures what it means to me to be a New Zealander? What a powerful question. Why does Labour not support that? Why does Labour not support the absolute power and freedom of a New Zealander to be able to answer a question like that? Well it beats me. [Interruption] Oh OK my colleague from Rangitīkei has just said: “Well because it wasn’t their idea.” OK I leave it at that.In around May next year an envelope will arrive in the mail for all of us who are registered electors and we will get the opportunity to choose between four options. At that point what that allows us to do apart from choosing something that speaks to us about being a New Zealander is to begin to weigh up in our minds: OK if we are not going to have the current flag what might we replace it with? Is that not a much better question than a simple yes or no? We will have something in front of us that we can look at—we will be able to see those designs. They will be in the newspaper. They will be in the media. They will be in social media no doubt. They will be on the voting papers. Is that not a more powerful position for us as New Zealanders to be able to say: “OK. Is it the old one or might it be one of these? I’m going to think about that and then I am going to have a vote.”? And for me I do not know yet. I do not know; I am open. But I am looking forward to those alternatives which I might vote on. So that is strike two.Then as enacted under this bill the commission goes away and determines a preference and then and only then puts that preference—and it might well be a silver fern on a red and blue background. It might well be a kiwi. It could be anything. It could be the Southern Cross. It could be a combination of the old flag and some aspect of New Zealand that speaks to us now. We do not know what it is going to be and that is what is so wonderful about this process. In due course—third strike—we are going to have another choice and that choice is going to be based on a bit of thinking. Unlike Sue Moroney who is sitting over on the other side of the House just yabbering away because I do not think she understands the issue—because what we are going to be able to do—Carmel Sepuloni: I think it’s Jacqui Dean who’s yabbering.JACQUI DEAN: Well that got them going. What we are going to be able to do in another 6 or so months’ time is make a decision based on knowledge—make a decision based on some options about what really speaks to us as New Zealanders. Well how wonderful is that? What an opportunity for us as New Zealanders. So when we do go to make that final vote in about a year and a half’s time we will be able to make a decision based on knowledge. And that is what the Labour Party is voting against. It does not want us to go to this referendum being able to make a decision based on knowledge. It has just knee-jerked: “We’ve got to oppose it we’ve got to oppose it we’ve got to oppose it. What could we oppose it on? I know: they’ve got the questions around the wrong way.” Well if that is the best that Labour members can come up with then maybe they deserve to be floundering around the 33 percent in the—what 33 32 percent? Are they in the 30s? Whatever.This bill puts a structure in place for New Zealanders to have a say about our flag—and it is our flag and it is not just going to be the Labour Party telling us how to vote. This is going to be a binding referendum for all New Zealanders. It is a marvellous opportunity and I support this bill. Thank you.