“Your Questions Answered”
Over the course of the submission process and as the roadshows have been underway around New Zealand, members of the panel have been filmed answering “your questions”. The team behind the process have done a great job getting these produced and addressing some of the questions raised. The responses are insightful, albeit brief (the videos are all under one minute long) and suggest the panel are informed about the concerns New Zealanders have been raising.
The questions range from “Why doesn’t the Government just decide?” which is answered by the Panel Chair, Emeritus Professor John Burrows, to “Isn’t this really disrespectful to our soldiers?” which is answered by Lt Gen (RTD) Rhys Jones.
All of the questions are listed below with the name of the panel member linking to their corresponding answer on YouTube, however you can also view all the videos on the flag.govt.nz site.
- “Why doesn’t the Government just decide?” — John Burrows
- “Are you listening to what the public are saying?” — Julie Christie
- “Why do we need a new flag? What’s wrong with the old one?” — Malcolm Mulholland
- “Will the flag definitely change?” — Peter Chin
- “Why are you asking us what we stand for?” — Sir Brian Lochore
- “Why don’t they ask us if we even want to change the flag first? Or, save money by putting it with an election?” — Beatrice Faumuina
- “Why are there no designers on the panel?” — Nicky Bell
- “Isn’t this really disrespectful to our soldiers?” — Lt Gen (RTD) Rhys Jones
- “Does this mean we are ditching the Commonwealth?” — Malcolm Mulholland
- “Can youth have their say?” — Stephen Jones
If you’ve asked any of the above or are interested in the panel members answers I encourage you to watch the videos.