12 Jun 2015

Fiji flag change process criticised

1:36 pm on 12 June 2015

Fiji's opposition Sodelpa Party says the credibility of the national flag committee is in tatters after this week's release of 23 designs making up the final selection.

A selection of the finalists of Fiji's new flag

A selection of the finalists of Fiji's new flag Photo: newfijiflag.com

The government will change the flag within the next four months.

Sodelpa says the official number of entries in the flag competition has kept changing, with many of them not being tallied.

It also says the public is not being told who the designers of the successful entries are.

It says explanations now being offered for the process are different to what the competition advertisements stipulated.

A period of public consultation and feedback will end on July the 1st, when the designs will be submitted to Cabinet for consideration.

A Sodelpa spokesperson, Mick Beddoes, says the immediate reaction and social media feedback show that the proposed flag change is being rejected.

Fiji flag

The Fiji flag Photo: Free google search image