New Zealanders have led the world in many fields - and particularly in sports the black uniform and the silver fern has been synonymous with this country's reputation and its perception by the rest of the world.

Businesses use the fern as an emblem throughout the world. To suggest any other flag other than a silver fern on black would detract from our achievements and world recognition is wrong. Canada's maple leaf is highly recognisable throughout the world and the silver fern on black would be right up there with it.

New Zealand has led the world in many fields since the vote was given to women and throughout the years scientists, businesses, sports, politics and tourism have established a name to be proud of and to go down in history. But, to countenance changing the name to Aotearoa and rename the North and South islands would be to change our history and to diminish those achievements.

In fact, we'd be invisible as just another South Pacific island nation, who nobody has ever heard of, for the sake of an ethnic few.

We're a nation of many ethnicities. One of the highest diversities in the world.
The silver fern on black would substantiate and symbolise this recognition of our own nationhood, and now could be the time to confirm what the world
already knows.

R E Stephens, Mount Maunganui.