It was with some interest that I read the three letters in last week's (October 30) issue, all of whom were stridently against the potential possibility of a flag change in the upcoming referendum.

Looking at the appalling state of the Middle East/Europe today I, for one, am very grateful to be living in a successful democratic country and to have the opportunity to record an opinion on this matter.

It is democracy in action exemplified.

The present-day flag was never voted upon by the then-population, but imposed on the country as, among other things, a convenient symbol to differentiate our troops from our Australian cousins in the times of war during that period.

The Union Jack quarter, (of the flag) represented our ties to Britain, on whom we were so reliant in those early pioneer days and was totally appropriate given our emerging needs for her support. About 100 years on and things have changed radically.

Our ties to England have been loosened (but not severed) as we have gone about establishing our own individual identity.

No longer do we rely solely on Britain's trade as was once the case (before the EEC came along to threaten our foreign currency earnings and thus became the catalyst for us to expand our trading markets/partners)

We have now established our own overseas markets with a variety of partners, including, importantly, China and with the advent of the recent TPPA agreement and the overtures toward the European Community we will have access to perhaps 75-80
per cent of the worlds markets.

In short, we are now standing on our own two feet and are lucky enough to be living in the most prosperous period in our entire history, with an economy that has out-performed most of the rest of the world.

Sometimes, it pays to reflect on where we are now and where we have come from.
The world knows New Zealand exists – we are the Rugby World Cup champions and the world is our oyster!

D Bennett, Tauranga