New Zealanders to vote twice over flag design

New Zealanders will vote twice over the next two years on whether the country should change its flag, the government has said.

Next year, voters will choose their favourite alternative flag from among several options — and in 2016, they will vote on whether that alternative should replace the current flag, the government said.

Some in New Zealand consider the current flag to be an unwanted relic from a colonial past and too similar to Australia’s flag.