The closing date for submissions is July 16, as part of a process to choose a new flag which was instituted by the New Zealand government in October 2014, called the "Flag Consideration Project."
The country's current flag is the New Zealand Blue Ensign, which features the Union Jack in the upper left corner, and four stars on the right which represent the Southern Cross, or Crux constellation, which is only visible from the Southern Hemisphere, and "signify our place in the South Pacific Ocean," says the New Zealand Ministry of Culture about the current flag.
"Its royal blue background is reminiscent of the blue sea and sky surrounding us," explains the Ministry. "The Union Flag recognizes our historical foundations and that New Zealand was once a British colony and dominion."
New Zealand is not the first ex-British colony currently proposing a reworked flag. In February, the government of Fiji announced it will remove the Union Jack from its flag, and intends to make a decision on a new design in time for the 45th anniversary of the country's independence in October, where it will be hoisted after a national competition to produce a new design. Canada, which once also had a flag featuring the Union Jack, adopted the current 'maple leaf' flag in 1965.
