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Kōrero: Flags

Paul Hopkinson burning the New Zealand flag, 2004

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Paul Hopkinson burning the New Zealand flag, 2004

In 2003 Paul Hopkinson burned the New Zealand and Australian flags at Parliament during the visit of Australian Prime Minister John Howard. Hopkinson was protesting about both countries' participation in the war in Afghanistan. He was prosecuted under the Flags, Emblems, and Names Protection Act 1981 and convicted of dishonouring the flag, but his conviction was overturned on appeal. To date, Hopkinson is the only person to have been prosecuted under this act. Here, he is burning the flag again after his conviction was overturned.

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Getty Images

Reference: 55797523

by Ross Setford

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Me pēnei te tohu i te whārang

Kerryn Pollock, Flags – Flag law and protocol, Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, https://teara.govt.nz/mi/photograph/33993/paul-hopkinson-burning-the-new-zealand-flag-2004 (accessed 5 June 2026).

He kōrero nā Kerryn Pollock, i tāngia i te 14 March 2012.