The Red Peak flag, designed by Aaron Dustin. Photo: Facebook
It looks likely that Red Peak will be in the running as one of the alternative flag designs as the Government has agreed to pick up a bill to include it.
The Greens had tried to introduce the bill by leave of Parliament, which would allow a fifth design to be added to the existing line-up. However, that was blocked by New Zealand First, which said it opposed any change to the current flag.
Prime Minister John Key said his office had an approach from the Greens and, accordingly, National agreed not to block the members bill this afternoon.
On his way into Parliament, Key said it was likely the government would pick the bill up.
If that happened, the legislation would realistically have to be passed this afternoon under urgency, he said.
Naenae Primary School student Sam Cooper, 10, with the final four flag designs. Photo: RNZ / Alexander Robertson
Red Peak has gained popularity in recent weeks, and a petition with about 50,000 signatures calling for it to be added was delivered to Parliament last week.
Green Party MP Gareth Hughes said his bill was about giving New Zealanders a choice, following the groundswell of support for the Red Peak flag to be included.
"The ball is in the other parties' court. If it is blocked - and a single Member of Parliament can block it - I'm calling on the government to adopt it as a government Bill, because the important thing isn't who passes the bill, it's that we have a Red Peak choice in the referendum in six weeks’ time.
"This bill provides a constructive solution that gives people the choice of a flag that's managed to engage more people in the flag debate than any other part of the process.
The Labour Party has already unsuccessfully tried to introduce a bill adding Red Peak to the referendum but that bill would also have changed the questions asked in the first referendum - a change that the Government said it could not support.
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A version of this story was first published on radionz.co.nz.
