Yesterday another Herald columnist, Paul Holmes, joined the ‘flag debate’, writing:-
When an august organ such as the New Zealand Herald launches what is called a serious debate, as it did this week, about the New Zealand flag it tells one of two things, perhaps both.
Either it is early February and there is not much news about or there is a real quickening of the momentum towards changing the design of the flag.
Either way, the debate is timely.
Well Paul, maybe it is because it is the silly season and the Herald finds tackling really important issues far too complicated and the possible topics much too complex for it’s columnists.
Interestingly Holmes referred to the Herald as an ‘august organ’ was he channeling Private Eye which has long poked the borax at the press by referring to them as organs. (Nah, too subtle shurely – Ed.)
Then Holmes wrote sycophantically:-
The Herald gave its debate some real weight by polling 18 of the 22 members of the Order of New Zealand, the country’s highest ranks, on whether they thought the flag should change.
Eleven of those who responded, including Jim Bolger, Sir Brian Lochore and Dame Catherine Tizard, want to see a change in the design. That is a serious result.
Why? This is only commentary from a totally unrepresentative group of people. Just because they have a gong, does not mean their view is any better than that of anybody else. After all one of those in favour of change in that 11 was Jonathon Hunt, former ‘Minister of Wine & Cheese’. It is not a serious result. It merely shows that 11 out of 18 people, in a totally unrepresentative sample favour a change. So what!!
Then a litte later he comments:-
The flag has no use as a marketing tool.
Flags are not brands, they are emblems of their nations. This desire by so many to ‘brand’ NZ is bizarre and reeks of a total lack of self-confidence. Adopting a new brand image or logo, which in this instance is what these morons who prattle on about branding and marketing effectively reduce the flag to, is just dumb. The NZ flag is not a Telecom logo for heavens sake.
Then he prattles:-
It is not immediately recognisable, like the Union Jack itself or the flags of the United States, Canada, China or South Africa.
Well actually, Adam cannot immediately recognise the flags of Chinan or South Africa. He doubts whether in fact that many people around the world actually recall many flags, other than their own and probably the US and UK flags, usually because they burn them in derision and protest.
Much of our problem is that many New Zealanders have trouble recognizing their own flag and lack a national self-confidence.
This is made obvious in Holmes next comment:-
At any sports meeting the flag of choice is the silver fern on a black background.
This is not a flag, it is a commercial emblem. Quite frankly, it is an example of the ludicrous and disproportionate emphasis placed on sport in NZ. To even consider adopting what was basically the NZRU’s sysmbol as a national flag is stupid and an insult to any intelligent person.
Even Holmes admits the commercial connotations are too much, that black is dull and that ferns are mundane and commonplace across the world.
So Holmes suggests that we adopt a flag such this design by artist Dick Frizzell:-
Flag design for NZ by Dick Frizzell
Now Frizzell may well be a noted artist, but to this blogger’s eye this looks like a rather unappealing fabric design for couch coverings. It does not look like an emblem of a nation.
Then of course John Key let himself be lured on TV this morning into saying he liked the silver fern design.
He like Holmes has fallen for the branding nonsense and more so in succumbing to the lure of the NZRU emblem.
We need to grow up and be more self confident, that will not come from adopting what is essentially a commercial symbol or alternatives which would look more at home as part of the living room upholstery.
The issue is not the flag, but a lack of pride in ourselves and self confidence. This will not be overcome by a re-branding exercise and the adoption of a new logo.
Dave Brown - Independent - 8 February
“We can make progress but there needs to be a dose of realism,” Mr Key said yesterday.
“It’s a negotiation and there will have to be give and take on both sides.
“We’ve made our bottom lines pretty clear, which is access rights to all New Zealanders.”
John Key quoted on negotiations on replacing the Foreshore & Seabed legislation.It appears that some groups are seeking enshrined rights far greater than those envisaged by the orginal court judgment.
Classic Brit folk/rock with a republican anthem for Disunity Day
Classic Bonzos number
Kate Rusby’s version of The Kinks classic
A fun little song from Eric Bogle
A slightly different ‘Down the Hall’ tonight
Jeremy Taylor’s Liftgirl’s Lament. Adam saw Jeremy perform this song in the late 1960s/early 1970s in the UK
Dave Gee has a most interesting post on the failure of the Greens and some related matters to do with elections, MMP and the like. He even refers to a recent speech by Lazarus.
Well worth reading.
Ever wondered about where the term ‘jobsworth’ came from? Wonder no more, Jeremy Taylor explains all
One of the later songs – Land of Plenty
The classic No Woman No Cry, performance from 1979,
An excellent post by Not PC on Disunity Day. Lengthy, but repays reading.
This post at Comment Central on The Times website explains the origin of the neologism ‘crash blossoms’, can you think of any examples.
Classics quoted include:-
Giant Waves Down Queen Mary’s Funnel
MacArthur Flies Back to Front
Squad Helps Dog Bite Victim
Red Tape Holds Up New Bridge
British Left Waffles on Falklands
Grandmother of eight makes hole in one
Drunks Get Nine Months in Violin Case
William Kelly was fed secretary
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
House passes gas tax onto senate
Farmer bill dies in house
Do we have any suitable local ones?
Adam was not going to award this gong this week, but then he came across this gem:-
Talk about having your oilcake and eating it. The European Commission wants to use a scandalous sleight of hand to justify felling tropical rainforests to make way for oil palm plantations that would produce biofuels.
A leaked document from the Commission to ministers and the European Parliament proposes getting round measures to limit the use of biofuels from deforested land by classifying dense plantations as “forests”, thus pretending that no destruction has taken place. “This means,” it says frankly, “that a change from forest to oil farm plantation would not per se constitute a breach of the [sustainability] criteria”.
Thus the EU, that bastion of protectionism, which presumes to lecture all and sundry on the climate change issue is revealed as a group of mendacious hypocrites.
Adam’s Hypocrite of the Week – The EU
On line the NZ Herald as an article by one Edward Gay about early morning events today at Waitangi.
The article is pretty average, but is notable for the following:-
but their were faults on bothsides”. – spelling and failure to separate words
A loan piper played Amazing Grace beneath the flagstaff - surely lone?
Waka from around the country lined up along the beach at Waitangi
before being launched – Adam is equally sure that the waka, inanimate wooden boats, did no such thing
The NZ Herald is just getting worse.
The NZ Herald for starting the fatuous so -called debate over the flag.
So boring and totally unneeded.
An excellent post by Stephen Franks on what the ‘Treaty’ really is; as opposed to what the grievance industry of opportunists, academics, activist judges and politicians say it is.
Forget National Disunity Day and celebrate the birthday of Bob Marley, born February 6, 1945
The classic ‘One Love’
Rod Emmerson - NZ Herald - 6 February
Can NZ ever get away from needing the silver fern in everything? Dont get me wrong the all black are awesome, but they are one sports team and our country doesn’t revolve around them (although some of you obviously think so!). The brand new “all black” inspired NZ passports are one of the most hideous things I’ve seen.
Comment on John Roughan’s NZ Herald piece on the flag
Yet again certain Maori elements show themselves singularly bereft of any common sense.
Apparently media are being asked to pay a fee in order to be able to cover events on the Te Tii Marae at Waitangi.
Yes, our so called National Day has media being asked for a fee in order to cover the proceedings where our Prime Minister is speaking.
These stupid and rude people apparently warned Fairfax Media :-
that if it entered the grounds without paying the fee its cameras would be confiscated by Maori wardens.
This is totally outrageous. We should not have to put up with this rubbish and claptrap.
NZPA chief executive Tim Pankhurst said the demand for a fee came close to extortion.
“Its not acceptable. This is an important national public event.”
“We understand the notion of koha but there then needs to be a debate on that, and news organisations contacted beforehand, rather than reporters being buttonholed and threatened on the day.
“They are reporting the prime minister on the eve of the day that we celebrate the founding of our country and national reconciliation. I think they should consider the context.
“There are plenty of other examples where the media go onto private property to report events where there is no question of them paying for that. Access for the media as the representatives of the public is a very important principle.”
Why do New Zealanders put up with this rubbish.
Waitangi Day should not be our National Day, it is no more than ethnic division and insult day.
We need a real National Day which resonates with all New Zealanders, not one where a clique of wingnuts strut their egos to the detriment of the nation.
Leaving no stone unturned in it’s desperation to foment debate over the NZ flag, NZ Herald gets the Airhead to opine on the issue.
The fact that so many including New Zealanders fail to recognize the NZ flag says more about NZ, the education system and how some people see themselves. It says nothing about the flag.
There is nothing wrong with the current flag. It is a perfectly good flag.
Adopting the silver fern on black background would for example be adopting the brand of essentially the NZ Rugby Union, do we really wish to be seen as a country that is so insecure that the national flag is derived from a sporting brand.
