It started as a joke. Honestly, most of the world probably thinks it still is.
Back in 2015, the New Zealand government decided to spend about $26 million on a two-stage referendum to change the national flag. They wanted something "modern." Something that didn't look so much like Australia's flag or scream "British Colony" quite so loudly. They opened the floodgates for public submissions, and the internet did exactly what the internet does.
Out of 10,292 entries, one stood out for being aggressively absurd: a black flag featuring a silver fern and a kiwi shooting a neon green laser beam out of its eye. It was titled "Fire the Lazer," and the New Zealand laser kiwi flag was born.
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It didn't win. It didn't even make the final shortlist of five. But here we are, years later, and while most people have forgotten the "Silver Fern" design that actually went to the final vote, the Laser Kiwi is more popular than ever. It's on t-shirts, it’s flown at music festivals, and it’s even been spotted on battlefields in Ukraine.
Why? Because it’s the most "New Zealand" thing to ever happen.
The Story Behind the Beam
The flag was designed by Lucy Gray. At the time, she was a former ACT Party candidate, and she literally whipped the design together in Microsoft Paint one evening. The logic was simple: Australia has all the deadly animals. New Zealand has the kiwi—a flightless, shy, somewhat awkward bird.
Gray wanted to give the kiwi an edge.
"I believe my design is so powerful it does not need to be discussed," she famously wrote in her official submission. It was a masterpiece of deadpan Kiwi humor.
The flag itself is a chaotic mix of traditional symbols and sci-fi nonsense. You’ve got the Silver Fern—the emblem of the All Blacks and a sacred symbol in Māori culture—sitting right next to a bird that is literally vaporizing something off-screen with its ocular weaponry.
Why the Referendum Failed
The government-appointed Flag Consideration Panel took things very seriously. Maybe too seriously. They whittled down the 10,000+ entries to a longlist of 40, then a shortlist of four (later five, after people complained that the designs were too corporate).
The final designs were... fine. They were safe. They looked like something a branding agency would charge you $200k for. Most featured Kyle Lockwood’s silver fern designs.
But for the average person on the street, the whole process felt like a massive waste of money. When you spend $26 million on a flag vote while people are struggling with housing and healthcare, you’re going to get some pushback. The New Zealand laser kiwi flag became the unofficial mascot of that frustration. It was a middle finger to the bureaucracy.
A Cultural Phenomenon That Won't Die
You can’t talk about the Laser Kiwi without mentioning John Oliver. On Last Week Tonight, Oliver spent a significant amount of time roasting the flag referendum. He specifically latched onto the Laser Kiwi, telling his global audience that New Zealand was missing a golden opportunity to have the coolest flag on Earth.
It went viral.
Suddenly, people who had never been to the South Island were ordering Laser Kiwi flags online. It became a symbol of "taking the piss," which is a core tenet of the New Zealand identity.
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The Global Impact
Surprisingly, the design has inspired other states and countries to embrace the "laser animal" aesthetic.
- Minnesota: During their recent flag redesign in 2023, several submissions featured a loon (their state bird) shooting lasers.
- Illinois: Similar "Laser Cardinal" designs have popped up in their 2025 redesign discussions.
It’s a specific kind of digital-age heraldry. It says, "We take our home seriously, but we don't take ourselves seriously."
Why We Still Love It
The official results of the 2016 referendum showed that 56.7% of New Zealanders wanted to keep the old flag. The status quo won. The Union Jack stayed in the corner.
But if you walk through a suburb in Wellington or a park in Auckland today, you’re way more likely to see a New Zealand laser kiwi flag than you are the "Silver Fern" design that actually came in second place.
It’s become the "People’s Flag."
It represents a specific brand of New Zealanders—the ones who aren't afraid of a bit of self-deprecation. It’s a symbol of the underdog. The kiwi is a bird that can’t fly, has no teeth, and is generally pretty vulnerable. Giving it lasers is a way of saying that New Zealand, despite its size, has a bit of a bite.
How to Get Your Own (and Use It Right)
If you're looking to represent the laser-eyed bird, don't expect to find it at a government gift shop. This is strictly "independent creator" territory.
- Check the Artist: Many official Laser Kiwi products support Lucy Gray or independent Kiwi artists. Avoid the cheap, low-res knockoffs on giant retail sites if you can; the MS Paint aesthetic is part of the charm, but you still want the lines to be crisp.
- Fly it Proudly: It’s commonly seen at the Sevens rugby, at Glastonbury, or even just pinned to the wall of a flat. It’s a conversation starter.
- Respect the History: While it's funny, remember it came out of a real (and expensive) national debate. It represents a moment when a small country looked at itself in the mirror and decided that, for better or worse, it liked being a little bit weird.
The New Zealand laser kiwi flag didn't need to win a vote to become an icon. It won the internet, and in 2026, that's arguably more powerful than being on a flagpole at a government building. It reminds us that sometimes, the best way to deal with a multimillion-dollar bureaucratic process is to just add some lasers and laugh.
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To dive deeper into the actual designs that almost replaced the current flag, you can look up the official 2015 longlist of 40 designs—some of them are actually quite beautiful, even if they lack the "firepower" of our favorite bird.