In August 2015 the Flag Consideration Panel announced a long list of 40 designs that they would subject to ‘robust checks and verification, including intensive intellectual property review, to ensure they are workable and that there are no impediments’. [1]
The panel, which had more than 10,000 entries to choose from, decided to be guided ‘first and foremost’ by the input it had received from the public during its consultation about ‘what was special to them about New Zealand’. The message it had received was clear:
A potential new flag should unmistakably be from New Zealand and celebrate us as a progressive, inclusive nation that is connected to its environment, and has a sense of its past and a vision for its future. [2]
The panel also invited a range of experts to review the selection.
‘Modern Hundertwasser’ was removed from the long list following a copyright claim by the Hundertwasser Non-Profit Foundation.
[1] 'It's official – long list of 40 potential flag designs announced', 10 August 1915 (NZ Government)
[2] 'Open letter from the Panel' (New Zealand Government)
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