NO To Changing The Flag | My Speech

We have been doing speeches for the past few weeks, and on Wednesday 2 September, we had a speech competition. Sadly, I didn't get a place, but I did get second last year. My speech this year was about the flag, and how we should NOT change it. Here is my speech.

A debate is already going on about changing the flag. You know what I think? NO WAY! I’ve got a bunch of things in mind to spend $25.7 million on. Do you think that we should change the flag? Hope not. Here’s why.

Money. $25.7 million just to change the flag. What a waste. This flag has got history behind it. I don’t think the government can prioritize the things that matter. I bet changing the flag is the last thing we should do, with $25.7 million to spend.

Buisness. We have already got this flag on licenses, cards, passports and other things. Does that mean that we will have two flags until everyone get’s it renewed? That would be weird, and it will take a long time to get everything renewed. Got one flag here, and another flag there. If somebody is new to NZ, and they see both flags, they might think that NZ is actually two countries. Who would want that?

Time. There is this site where you can design a flag and post your creation. Not only we are wasting money, we are also wasting time finding a suitable flag for our country. We are already used to the flag we have got now, and if we change it, it can take some getting used to, trying to find an image of the flag to put on a presentation.

Knowledge. Some people live somewhere out of the country, and either know a little bit about NZ, or they know nothing. If someone knows what the flag looks like, and we change it, it is possible that they haven’t received the news and possibly make something about NZ, and they put the old flag on it.

Australia and NZ. People are saying that their flag is too similar to ours. I think we should keep it that way. We are in the same area, right? Australia is basically the closest country to us, so why do we need to make the flag a lot different to Australias? If people get muddled up, so what? We just have to get used to it. Even I can’t believe people get muddled up. NZ’s flag has 4 red stars, and Australia has 6 white stars. How can people get confused!? Red, white, two very different colours, and Australia has a giant star under the Union Jack! Plus, some people say that a flag with the silver fern from far away resembles a white feather, which means surrender or cowardness.

All this, just to change the flag? I don’t think we should. If the government has already paid to change the flag, then they will have to choose a good one, because I don’t think they should change it again. If you are on my side, stay on this side, because it is just a waste. If you would like the flag to change, I am looking forward to seeing your side of the story. Also, there are other debates going on, like the changing of the National Anthem. I don’t think that that should change either. You could make your own speech about it, and I’d like to see your competitor. Thank you for your time and please consider this topic.