Growing popular support for the design appeared to count for little after a stand-off between National and Labour on how it could be added to the four designs already selected.
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NZ First will block the measure, meaning it will only be successful if National has agreed to pick it up as their own bill.
‘The New Zealand government, and agencies responsible for New Zealand tourism and exports, will want the winning flag design to be both something memorable and be capable of being marketed around the world.
It seems, however, we won’t need to wait that long – NZ First’s Ron Mark has confirmed his party will block Mr Hughes’ amendment.
To enhance the chances of that happening, the Green Party have undertaken not to support any amendments Labour might put up to change the first referendum question.
A recent poll by 3 News Reid Research revealed that just 25% of New Zealanders are in favour of changing the flag.
“If those members think those people shouldn’t get a choice, they can stand up and say it in their speeches”.
On his way into Parliament Prime Minister John Key said the Government would pick up the bill if it was blocked in the house.
The bill, which amends the New Zealand Flag Referendums Act to “enable New Zealanders to be given a broader range of options in the first flag referendum”, was introduced by the opposition Green party.
Despite the subsequent massive support for Red Peak, Mr Key had ruled out including it as a fifth entry, saying doing so would require a change to the law.
The debate over whether Red Peak should be included has been politically divisive in New Zealand, with Mr Key accusing Labour of “playing games” on the issue. Asked on Wednesday about the potential of Red Peak being ranked top in the first referendum, he replied, “It doesn’t matter”.
A second vote in 2016 will ask whether they want to scrap the existing flag – featuring the Union Jack – and replace it with the victor .
“The whole way through I’ve said my preference is to stick with the process that the officials gave us, stick with the four”, Key said in a press conference reported by Radio New Zealand.
“Ultimately, parliament had reached the stage where party politics was getting in the way of what people really wanted, which was more choice”, he said.
Sponsor of the original Green Party bill, Gareth Hughes, also objected to the Nazi comparison, calling Mr O’Rourke’s comments scurrilous.
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‘I’m certainly detecting a sense of disappointment, that out of 10,000 wildly varying designs, they have come down to four nearly identical [original] ones – two by the same person, ‘ he said.
