December 14, 2015
Identity focus in next flag debate
A member of the Flag Consideration Panel says the way is now clear for a deeper debate on national identity in the run up to the second flag referendum.
The final result of the first referendum won’t be known until tomorrow afternoon, with the two Kyle Lockwood design, a fern in black, blue and white or red, blue and white, running neck to neck.
The winner will be put against the current flag in the March poll.
Critics have labelled the designs tea towels or weetbix packets, but Malcolm Mulholland says it took time for the maple leaf to be accepted as Canada’s flag.
"These things take time and we were never going to reach consensus with a the flag vote. Ultimately there was going to be one winner and four losers. I think what's important now is we've got a debate between two flags, the current flag and one of the Kyle Lockwood's, because it's still too close to call, and that will refocus the minds of the public and we'll have another debate, really about identity this time round," he says.
FULL INTERVIEW: MALCOLM MULLHOLLAND
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