A Dunedin workshop to discuss options involving possible changes to the New Zealand flag ended on a strongly sceptical note yesterday.
Two members of the Flag Consideration Project's panel, chairman Emeritus Prof John Burrows QC and former Dunedin mayor Peter Chin, attended the 5.30pm meeting, held upstairs at the Dunedin Centre.
About 25 members of the public attended.
Mr Chin said in a later interview the attendance had been ''good'' considering the weather conditions.
It was the second of about 21 nationally-scheduled workshops on the topic, the first having attracted more than 50 people in Invercargill last week.
A short film screened yesterday and outlined the history of New Zealand's three main official national flags over the years, and members of the public had earlier answered a written quiz about flag-related topics.
As the 90-minute meeting drew to a close, several people spoke out against changing the flag, some suggesting the $25.7 million referendum and consultation process was being forced on a public that did not want change.
One person highlighted the many ''empty tables'' and chairs at the meeting venue, and noted polls showing most New Zealanders opposed change.
Steve King, a Dunedin community worker, said there was ''very little support for change''and queried the spending priorities involved in the flag referendum process.
Prof Burrows earlier emphasised the flag project's panel was strictly neutral over the merits of changing the flag, but defended the costs involved in the referendum process.
Democracy came at a cost, and the referendum costs should be seen in a wider historical context, given that the current New Zealand flag, the New Zealand Ensign, had been legally adopted in 1902.
Any decision arising from the proposed two referendums was also likely to determine the future of New Zealand's flag for decades to come, he said.
More information is available from standfor.co.nz via internet.
