Flags are just the most basic and formalised instances of commercial logos, or “brands” as they’re called today. I refer you to the humongous literature on logo design for the long list of reasons for which there are so few “3D with a big animated hologram” logos out there.
Ugh, one of those.
Anyway, it doesn’t matter whether you’re right or wrong about the status or powers of Governors General or the whole 1975 incident; the real point is that using that as a reason for your emotional reaction to the Union flag being called “sexy” was Just Plain Silly.
It is a cool-looking flag, just to look at, plain and simple; the fact that we live in countries (I’m Canadian) with some unfortunately undemocratic holdovers from the imperial era of the country that flag represents has nothing at all to do with whether it’s okay to say that or not.
Lighten up, crankypants.
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The Pound Sterling is already used in crown dependencies and they are not part of the UK.
I’m not saying Scotland would fall under this category after independence, only that there are already exceptions in place.
Well if the flag really does represent the clouds in the sky, I think we can keep the same design as the sky will still be there.
As for the UK flag, it’s a shame I guess; I think the current UK flag is the only one with an isometric 3D effect out there.
Crown dependencies are barely-disguised tax havens with no real economy of their own. Your analogy basically confirms that an independent-plus-Pound Scotland would be economically irrelevant and entirely dependent on Westminster.
I’m fairly sure that the strategy would be to use the pound during a transitionary period as they bring in the Euro.
I’m not quite sure what that confirms in your scenario. But I’m not quite sure what your scenario is for or about either so I guess it all matches up.
Edit: Oh yeah… I did post
And now I think I’ve fallen into a trap.
HISSSSSSS
Mobile link!
FTFY
:3
OMG those are the NUMBERS two, zero, one and two!!!
I guess you’re not a resident of our beloved British Isles – that horrible concoction was forced onto our eyeballs for five years until they finally got rid of it after the end of the Olympic Games… more than a year ago. Hopefully it will be quickly forgotten, like British cruelty in Africa and the status of Diego Garcia.
No, I saw it everywhere.
It just never occurred to me to try ‘reading’ the thing.
(Honest) 
Gouldina, what part of the common English word “representative”, as in “queen’s representative in Australia” do you not understand?
Your other points, moot as they may be, don’t address the one simple point I originally made.
Jasonlanejson,
thanks for the informative quote (source?), but I highly suspect the reality of the influence of the queen/British Establishment, and especially 40 years ago was far less clear-cut than it is now.
Have those correspondences now been made part of the public record?
Or am I being far too sceptical about the claimed good intentions of an Establishment figure against a properly elected Labour government in Australia at that time?
Returning to my original point:
I remain embarrassed every time I see a union jack on my NZ flag.
For me it ain’t sexy.
There’s a strong movement to change the flag.
Long as it looks good covering Rick Allen’s arse, I won’t complain.
OK, I get it - your big fear is that the Queen’s representative will intervene in a situation where the government can’t transact its ordinary business due to blocking tactics by one of the parties in a hung parliament, resulting in said Queen’s representative dissolving parliament to the evident satisfaction of the majority of the voters who vote out the previous incumbent, voting in the opposition with a massive majority. Honestly, if I were a New Zealander, that wouldn’t make my top ten million worries.
Perhaps you also need to consider the recent shenanigans in the US parliament where similar tactics were employed and the constitution of the United States couldn’t really cope with it. Be careful what you wish for.
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Source:
I agree, the influence the UK held over Australia 40 years ago was stronger. Nevertheless I still firmly believe all decisions ultimately come from No. 10 & not Buckingham Palace.
I am British but I certainly did not grow up here, so my point of view is different to most British you will meet. I am fully aware of the travesties that this nation committed in the past, that is all however hindsight. The important thing is to fully aware of these past actions, more importantly though is to move on and deal with the present travesties in progress, for example NZ’s relationship with the US (another horrible bully) and the TPP. Now that is a real disaster!
Don’t get to hung up symbolic gestures, like the Union Jack because if time tells us anything it will probably change. Yes the people of NZ should do whatever they fell is correct for them, if changing the flag is part of that, good on them.
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Gouldina, I appreciate your willingness to go from entirely uninformed on the topic to fully engaged. Kudos.
The point is this: either one is part of a democracy or you aren’t.
So, as we know, democracy means etymologically speaking “rule by the people”.
In NZ we’ve had democracy of the people, including women for the very first time in the world for a country for about 120 years.
Except we haven’t.
We’ve had a democracy so long as us Kiwis play nice.
If however we don’t" play nice", through blocking tactics etc, then a foreign personage selected by heredity, or a representative thereof, can unilaterally blow the whistle.
Just like a referee.
So it’s rule of the people, until it’s not.
So it’s saying that others trust New Zealanders to work it out, until they can’t.
It’s limited trust.
It’s trust for teenagers, not adults.
NZ needs a law that allows us NZers to screw up on our own!
Currently I live in Germany which is truly a democracy in a way that NZ’s is currently not.
Pop quiz: which of these two countries have proven themselves more often good citizens in the global community?
The union jack is a painful reminder that our legal situation here doesn’t reflect our IMHO grown-up status.
It’s a reminder of colonial attitudes, that should by now be long gone.
Do I think a chance again of a “Whitlam Govt. dismissal” happening again, but this time in NZ 40 years later?
Extremely unlikely indeed.
The whole nation would rise up.
Notwithstanding that reality, the symbolism is why I don’t find the union jack on my flag one bit sexy.
Clear now, Gouldina?
Fuuuuuuck! One of those ‘magic eye’ poster moments! I never ever did realise.
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“If however we don’t” play nice", through blocking tactics etc, then a foreign personage selected by heredity, or a representative thereof, can unilaterally blow the whistle.
Just like a referee.
So it’s rule of the people, until it’s not."
Yeah and like I said, not having any form of intervention worked really well in the US recently right? I really don’t care if you have the monarchy or not. It really isn’t down to me. If you don’t want it, why haven’t you got rid of it? Is that something to do with democracy perhaps? Oh yeah:
wikipedia: “The New Zealand public are generally in favour of the retention of the monarchy, with recent polls showing it to have between 50 and 70% support.”
“Currently I live in Germany which is truly a democracy in a way that NZ’s is currently not.
Pop quiz: which of these two countries have proven themselves more often good citizens in the global community?”
Hmm tricky. Can I phone a friend? Someone in Poland, France, Czechoslovakia, Belgium or Holland perhaps?
Sadly we won’t see scotish independence but I would pay serious money to see what it would do to the self confidence of the English/rest-UK population.
I imagine a retro-reverse-fawlty-towers-esque society where basically every media, politician or even the average Joe constantly talks about or remembers “The War!!!” (even more than today) because the british inferiority complex now reached a fatal level.
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Funny. Just made a post about it. The only/strongest argument a Brit (or Usian) seemingly has left “… but … but … the War!!!” He’s obviously talking about the last decades and you trot out Goodwin. The difference is that Germany learned from it’s past while the US and UK currently try to emulate it.
Oh come on, how could one resist poking fun out of a statement like “proven themselves more often good citizens in the global community” about Germany? Let’s not get entirely po-faced.
Oh, too late.
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