24 Feb 2016

Kiwi crooner joins 'keep the flag' campaign

7:20 pm on 24 February 2016

New Zealand R&B and soul singer Stan Walker has come out in support to keep the current New Zealand flag.

Stan Walker performing live at RNZ

Stan Walker performs live at RNZ's studio in Auckland in 2015. Photo: RNZ / Diego Opatowski

Walker, who is also an actor, posted a picture of the current flag on his Instagram account with the caption "People ask me what my stand is... This is it." He also used the hashtags #keeptheflag and #keepthecurrent flag.

Last week, former All Black Dan Carter and other high-profile New Zealanders tried to boost support for changing the flag with a new video.

The video, by the Change the New Zealand Flag campaign, features a line-up of eminent citizens from the worlds of business, culture, politics and sport.

However, recent polls suggest most people want to keep the old flag.

One group opposed to change is the Returned and Services Assocation (RSA).

Its head, David Moger, said the charity did not have the cash to spend on glossy marketing, unlike the campaign for change, whose supporters had very deep pockets.

The RSA's membership and many other New Zealanders were proud of the current flag because it represented their history, he said.

In the second and final referendum next month, voters will choose between the current flag and the Blue and Black Silver Fern flag designed by Kyle Lockwood.

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