The Dunedin City Council was flying the flag for the rest of the country, Maori Affairs minister Dr Pita Sharples said at a press conference in Auckland yesterday.
Dr Sharples singled out the council for its decision to fly the tino rangatiratanga (Maori sovereignty flag) on Waitangi Day.
"I want to draw the attention of the nation to one brave council in Dunedin, in which Mayor Peter Chin has proudly flown the Maori flag on the balcony outside his civic centre office on Waitangi Day over the last two years.
"If it can happen in Dunedin, then we want to see it in Waitakere; in Te Teko; in Taranaki; in Takapau."
Dr Sharples was asked by Prime Minister John Key to oversee the consultation process to select a Maori flag and, in turn, has asked Maori Party MP Hone Harawira to lead the nationwide series of hui.
Participants at the 21 hui will be asked to choose a representative Maori flag to fly alongside the New Zealand flag on Waitangi Day.
The four options include the tino rangatiratanga flag, the United Tribes flag, the red ensign flag and the national flag.
The series of hui will begin in Kaitaia on Saturday and finish at Araiteuru marae in Dunedin on Thursday, August 13.
Mr Chin said the decision to fly the tino rangatiratanga flag following a request was an easy one and "nobody questioned it".
"I think it has been noticed."
