New Zealand prime minister wants national vote on changing the flag held next year

FILE - In this March 3, 2014 file photo, Victor Gizzi, left, and David Moginie, managers at flag manufacturer Flagmakers, pose next to flags of New Zealand, left, and Australia, in their factory near Wellington, New Zealand. Fresh off a big election win, New Zealand Prime Minster John Key says he wants the nation to vote next year on changing its flag. Key told television station TV3 on Monday, Sept. 22, 2014, that he wants a national referendum held in 2015. Opponents say it’s too similar to Australia’s flag and doesn't reflect New Zealand’s independence from Britain. (AP Photo/Nick Perry, File) (The Associated Press)

WELLINGTON, New Zealand – Fresh off a big election win, New Zealand Prime Minster John Key says he wants the nation to vote next year on changing its flag.

Key told television station TV3 on Monday that he wants a national referendum held in 2015. He first raised the idea of a flag vote in March.

Key's center-right National Party won 48 percent of the vote in Saturday's election, giving it a third term in office.

Some in New Zealand consider the flag to be an unwanted relic from a colonial past, while others feel a deep attachment to it.

It depicts the Southern Cross star constellation and includes Britain's Union Jack in the upper left corner. Opponents say it's too similar to Australia's flag and doesn't reflect New Zealand's independence from Britain.