Sigh...

[birguslatro]

They've narrowed down the 10,000 NZ alternative flags to 40 - and they're none too inspiring...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Zealand_flag_debate#Flag_Consideration_Panel_long_list

I'm hard-pressed to find one good one among them, let alone four. My guess would be they decided to choose a mix of common themes, those themes being the fern, the koru and the Southern Cross. So that's what we've got. Which would possibly be alright, if they'd used a broader range of artists. But there's quite a few who have multiple designs in this list. It smacks of nepotism.

I noticed some I liked when starting to look through the 10,000, but the website couldn't handle the traffic when I was looking, (images weren't showing), so I gave up on it.

Just remembered a NZ design I've always liked...

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/postage-stamp/10859/taniwha-stamp

And the original...

http://www.teara.govt.nz/en/maori-rock-art-nga-toi-ana

Possibly too busy for a flag though. Still, one riffed on Maori rock art could've been nice...

http://beautifulstampsjah.blogspot.co.nz/2014/04/new-zealand-2012-maori-rock-art.html

(I'm afraid this isn't going to end well. I've little faith in NZ's collective taste...)