Wellington Airport - blackout welcome for Wallabies

There will be no confusion over national flags this week as Wellington International Airport is blacked out, and the traditional New Zealand Flag is replaced with a new version, ahead of the weekend's Bledisloe Cup clash with the Wallabies.

Thirty www.nzflag.com flags bearing stylised silver ferns will greet the Wallabies ensuring there is no doubt they have arrived on New Zealand soil. Airport management decided not to use the traditional flag as it could be mistaken for that of Australia.

Simon Draper, CEO Wellington International Airport, said the debate around changing the New Zealand flag is part of an effort to inspire pride and achievement.

"If my compatriots in Australia take notice of what is happening here, they will no doubt do the same and say it was their idea."

Wellington ZM radio personality Pauline Gillespie, the latest endorser of the www.nzflag.com referendum to change the New Zealand flag, says, "We're not afraid to be bold in Wellington. If we hung the traditional New Zealand flag everywhere, there's a good chance our visitors would think we were supporting them!"

Rugby commentator Keith Quinn has previously challenged New Zealanders to support the All Blacks with NZFlag.com's stylized silver fern flag.

"When you go to a Bledisloe Cup game and all the flags are waving in the crowd, to me they all seem the same; they both have the Union Jack with the Southern Cross on a blue background."

"Let's show the Aussies who we really are. Now that www.nzflag.com has launched an alternative to the current flag, I challenge every Kiwi to get hold of a flag and fly it. Flying the silver fern is the perfect way to inspire our national team."

Over 50 prominent Kiwis across a range of disciplines including sports, the arts, education, religion, and business are pushing for a referendum on a new national flag.

Former world triathlete champion Erin Baker; actor, film director and writer Ian Mune; and Chris Morrison, founder & managing director of Phoenix Organics and chairman of The Sustainable Business Network, are the latest New Zealand leaders to endorse changing New Zealand's flag.

Flags and t-shirts are available online at http://www.nzflag.com.

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