New Zealand leader wants flag vote held next year

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key waves as he makes a speech after winning the national election in Auckland, New Zealand, Saturday, Sept. 20, 2014. Key won an emphatic victory in New Zealand’s general election to return for a third term in office, a result that will be seen as an endorsement of the way Key’s National Party has handled the economy. AP

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Fresh off a big election win, New Zealand Prime Minster John Key says he wants the nation to vote next year on changing its flag.

Key told television station TV3 on Monday that he wants a national referendum held in 2015. He first raised the idea of a flag vote in March.

Key’s center-right National Party won 48 percent of the vote in Saturday’s election, giving it a third term in office.

Some in New Zealand consider the flag to be an unwanted relic from a colonial past, while others feel a deep attachment to it.

It depicts the Southern Cross star constellation and includes Britain’s Union Jack in the upper left corner. Opponents say it’s too similar to Australia’s flag and doesn’t reflect New Zealand’s independence from Britain.