Support for current flag amid UK Waitangi celebrations

Support for current flag amid UK Waitangi celebrations

The annual Waitangi Day Pub Crawl sees thousands of New Zealanders swarm London en mass, and yes, the drinking starts early.

Newshub took the opportunity to conduct an unofficial straw poll on our flag: to change or not to change.

Think "New Zealand" and clearly different New Zealanders think different things – Raro, beer, sheep of course, sex toys – that's a new one – police and flags, loads and loads of flags.

There's the old classic, the other old classic, the underdog and a bunch of others – Laser Kiwi, of course.

Other media were distracted with the news of Economic Minister Steven Joyce being hit in the face with a sex toy.

Using that traditional litmus test of popular opinion – drunken Kiwis – Newshub conducted a special one-off Waitangi Pub Crawl poll.

Of the 50 people quizzed for the "what's up your flag pole flag poll", 36 voted to keep the flag – that's 72 percent. Twelve wanted a change – that's 24 percent. Two couldn't care less – that's 4 percent.

So overwhelming and unscientifically, there's an apparent fondness for that old classic for now.

But there's something about the pub crawl that seemed to bring out fondness all round.

Newshub.