Indigenous leader Warren Mundine slams disgusting piece of 'artwork' that urges people to walk on the flag
The Suter Art Gallery in the city of Nelson said Thursday it had taken down the work by Māori artist Diane Prince due to escalating tensions and safety fears.
The episode mirrored an Auckland gallery's removal of the work amid public backlash and complaints to law enforcement in 1995.
This time, the flag was meant to remain on display for five months.
Instead, it lasted just 19 days, reigniting long-running debates in New Zealand over artistic expression, national symbols and the country's colonial history.
Police said that officers were investigating 'several' complaints about the exhibition.
The piece, titled Flagging the Future, is a cloth New Zealand flag displayed on the floor with the words 'please walk on me' stenciled across it.
The flag features the British Union Jack and red stars on a blue background.
The work was part of an exhibition, Diane Prince: Activist Artist, and was meant to provoke reflection on the Māori experience since New Zealand's colonization by Britain in the 19th century.
Prince created the piece in 1995 in response to a government policy that limited compensation to Māori tribes for historical land theft.
'I have no attachment to the New Zealand flag,' Prince told Radio New Zealand in 2024. 'I don't call myself a New Zealander. I call myself a Māori.'
New Zealand's reckoning with its colonial past has gathered pace in recent decades.
But there has been little appetite among successive governments to sever the country's remaining constitutional ties to Britain or change the flag to a design that doesn't feature the Union Jack.
Warren Mundine said the artwork made no sense especially since New Zealanders had already voted against changing their flag in 2015.
'Like the Voice Campaign in Australia, New Zealand actually voted on their flag,' Mr Mundine told Sky News Australia.
'The vast majority of New Zealanders - all supported the flag.
'This is not going to fix race relations in New Zealand.'
'Some artist is just having a brain explosion.'
New Zealand is among countries where desecrating the national flag is considered taboo and prohibited by law.
Damaging a flag in public with intent to dishonor it is punishable by a fine of up to $5,000 New Zealand dollars, but prosecutions are fleetingly rare.
The country's flag is synonymous for some with military service. But for others, particularly some Māori, it's a reminder of land dispossession, and loss of culture and identity.
A veterans' group also denounced the piece as 'shameful' and 'offensive.' City council member Tim Skinner said he was 'horrified' by the work's inclusion.
But others welcomed it. Nelson's deputy mayor, Rohan O'Neill-Stevens, posted on social media 'in strong defense of artistic expression and the right for us all to be challenged and confronted by art.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
12 hours ago
- The Independent
New Zealand to charge foreign tourists to visit famous natural sites
New Zealand is set to charge foreign tourists to enter four of the country's most famous natural attractions under a conservation plan. Overseas visitors can expect to pay between NZ$20 (£8.87) and $40 (£17.75) to visit the sites. The measures, announced by prime minister Christopher Luxon and conservation minister Tama Potaka, are part of a plan to create more jobs and boost wages. The first locations to introduce the charges will be Cathedral Cove / Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Sound and Aoraki Mount Cook, where foreigners often account for 80 per cent of all visitors. Conservation minister Tama Potaka said: 'Tourists make a massive contribution to our economy, and no one wants that to change. 'But I have heard many times from friends visiting from overseas their shock that they can visit some of the most beautiful places in the world for free. 'It's only fair that at these special locations, foreign visitors make an additional contribution of between $20 and $40 per person.' 'For the conservation estate that will mean up to $62m (£28m) per year in revenue, which will be directly re-invested into those same areas, so we can keep investing in the sites that underpin so much of our tourism sector,' Mr Potaka said. The plan announced on Saturday 2 July highlighted missed opportunities for tourism on conversation estate due to 'outdated rules'. Prime minister Christopher Luxon said: 'Many New Zealanders already run outstanding businesses on the conservation estate – from guided walks and ski fields, to filming documentaries, grazing sheep and cattle, or hosting concerts and building cell phone towers. 'But to do any of that, you need a concession – and the concessions regime is totally broken, often taking years to obtain or renew and leaving businesses in a cycle of bureaucratic limbo.' Entry for New Zealanders would remain free. The Prime Minister said: 'It's our collective inheritance and Kiwis shouldn't have to pay to see it.' 'If we're serious about keeping Kiwis at home, creating jobs, and increasing wages for all New Zealanders, we can't afford to keep saying no to every opportunity that comes our way,' Mr Luxon added.
The Guardian
14 hours ago
- The Guardian
New Zealand to charge foreign tourists to visit most famous sites
New Zealand plans to start charging international tourists fees to enter its famous natural sites and will make it easier for businesses to operate on conservation land as part of a controversial proposal to 'unleash' growth on ecologically and culturally protected areas. The government plans to start charging foreign visitors NZ$20-40 ($12-24) per person to access some sites. Initially, those would probably include Cathedral Cove/Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track and Aoraki Mount Cook. The fees are likely to be imposed from 2027. The conservation minister, Tama Potaka, said those fees could generate NZ$62m a year 'so we can keep investing in the sites that underpin so much of our tourism sector'. The government's announcements form part of a wider shake-up of conservation law that will also make selling or exchanging conservation land easier and allow more activities to go ahead on conservation without needing a permit. 'In the spirit of saying yes to more jobs, more growth and higher wages', the government would 'unleash a fresh wave of concessions' including in tourism, agriculture and infrastructure at some locations, the prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said on Saturday. Conservation land is protected, publicly owned land and makes up a third of New Zealand territory. It covers areas with biodiversity, historic or cultural value. Some businesses such as ski fields and grazing already operated on conservation land but many other businesses struggled to gain the same permission, Luxon said. It is the latest policy that seeks to loosen regulation on natural sites and species to enable economic growth. In 2024, the government passed a law that could see contentious mining and infrastructure projects fast-tracked for approval. It has also proposed a law change to make it easier for companies to kill protected wildlife in order to pursue certain infrastructure projects. Conservation and climate initiatives have also faced budget cuts. But critics say the changes risk harming the environment and vulnerable species. New Zealand has high rates of endemic biodiversity but some species are in worrying decline, with a high proportion threatened or at risk of extinction. Green party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said Luxon was putting profit above the protection of nature. 'That tells us everything we need to know about who he thinks he works for. It's not regular people, future generations or a healthy environment,' she said in a statement to the Guardian. Nicola Toki, the chief executive of New Zealand's largest conservation organisation, Forest & Bird, said the latest reforms 'represent the most significant weakening of conservation law in a generation' and would increase pressure on vulnerable species. 'They shift the focus from protection to exploitation, dismantling the very purpose of our national parks and conservation lands.'
The Guardian
17 hours ago
- The Guardian
New Zealand to charge foreign tourists to visit most famous sites
New Zealand plans to start charging international tourists fees to enter its famous natural sites and will make it easier for businesses to operate on conservation land as part of a controversial proposal to 'unleash' growth on ecologically and culturally protected areas. The government plans to start charging foreign visitors NZ$20-40 ($12-24) per person to access some sites. Initially, those would probably include Cathedral Cove/Te Whanganui-a-Hei, Tongariro Crossing, Milford Track and Aoraki Mount Cook. The fees are likely to be imposed from 2027. The conservation minister, Tama Potaka, said those fees could generate NZ$62m a year 'so we can keep investing in the sites that underpin so much of our tourism sector'. The government's announcements form part of a wider shake-up of conservation law that will also make selling or exchanging conservation land easier and allow more activities to go ahead on conservation without needing a permit. 'In the spirit of saying yes to more jobs, more growth and higher wages', the government would 'unleash a fresh wave of concessions' including in tourism, agriculture and infrastructure at some locations, the prime minister, Christopher Luxon, said on Saturday. Conservation land is protected, publicly owned land and makes up a third of New Zealand territory. It covers areas with biodiversity, historic or cultural value. Some businesses such as ski fields and grazing already operated on conservation land but many other businesses struggled to gain the same permission, Luxon said. It is the latest policy that seeks to loosen regulation on natural sites and species to enable economic growth. In 2024, the government passed a law that could see contentious mining and infrastructure projects fast-tracked for approval. It has also proposed a law change to make it easier for companies to kill protected wildlife in order to pursue certain infrastructure projects. Conservation and climate initiatives have also faced budget cuts. But critics say the changes risk harming the environment and vulnerable species. New Zealand has high rates of endemic biodiversity but some species are in worrying decline, with a high proportion threatened or at risk of extinction. Green party co-leader Chlöe Swarbrick said Luxon was putting profit above the protection of nature. 'That tells us everything we need to know about who he thinks he works for. It's not regular people, future generations or a healthy environment,' she said in a statement to the Guardian. Nicola Toki, the chief executive of New Zealand's largest conservation organisation, Forest & Bird, said the latest reforms 'represent the most significant weakening of conservation law in a generation' and would increase pressure on vulnerable species. 'They shift the focus from protection to exploitation, dismantling the very purpose of our national parks and conservation lands.'
