The addition of Red Peak to the flag referendum may have been a victory for the Greens, but it's going to cost the taxpayer an extra $400,000.
Figures obtained by RadioLIVE show nearly $300,000 is needed for the Electoral Commission to redesign, reprint and re-translate voting material that references only four options.
It will also have to develop and test changes to the vote processing system, which will cost an extra $100,000.
Green Party co-leader James Shaw was the driving force behind the fifth option, and says the extra cost is money well spent.
"Compared to the $26 million that's going to be spent anyway, to give people that additional choice, I think, is a pretty small price to pay."
There may be additional costs for the addition from the Flag Consideration Panel.
New Zealand First leader Winston Peters says it will end up costing much more than the $400,000 figure.
"It will cost much more than that just for this superficial change to a fifth option," Mr Peters says. "Because you've got all of Parliament's time, and MP's time – you're talking a much more substantial figure than that."
RadioLIVE
