New Zealanders respond to calls for a new flag

WELLINGTON, New Zealand, May 15 (UPI) -- New Zealand's call for a new national flag has brought out the artist in many citizens, who have submitted suggested designs.

The nation of 4.5 million people, a British Commonwealth country but independent since 1947, has continued to use the flag first adopted in 1902: blue, with a British Union Jack in the upper left and a constellation visible from New Zealand, the Crux Australis, on the right. Long-standing suggestions to retire the flag, since New Zealand is no longer a British territory, have been stalled by thoughts that the move would be disrespectful to veterans who fought and died in New Zealand's, and Britain's, defense. The current flag is also similar in design to New Zealand's neighbor, Australia.

The government announced a 2016 election to either keep the current flag or adopt a newly chosen design, and has invited suggestions. The young, and apparently the artistically challenged, have responded enthusiastically, and a government website offers what amounts to a guide for designing a national flag.

"Avoid using features in the design that will cause the flag to become dated or obsolete," reads a suggestion in the government website.

Many feature the kiwi, a small flightless bird indigenous to New Zealand.

Four designs will be chosen by a 12-person panel, and the winner, in a mail-in vote, will compete in 2016 with the current flag in another vote.