You know the anti flag change argument's getting a little ropey when the botanical nature of the silver fern on the Kyle Lockwood designs come under attack and when the Canadian flag with a white maple leaf's mentioned in the next breath.

Luigi Peters is going full out to convince us to stick with the current ensign, featuring the British Union Jack in the top left hand corner. We've got another fortnight to make up our minds over which alternative should go up against the more than a century old standard.

Luigi's opposition to the flag change has turned more into an attack on the man driving it, saying John Key's crassness knows no bounds.

Surely though it's time to move on from the twenty six million dollar cost of the referenda. The money's now committed whether we like it or not and Peters banging on about it isn't going to change that.

It's the heart strings that he's also pulling at in his bid to prevent change, citing the image of Jonah Lomu waving the flag at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. And then he cites the case of an old digger who fought under the flag in the Second World War, quoting his son who said it's simple for his Dad, he fought under the flag and sadly lost cobbers as far back as his school days.

Fact is those cobbers he lost are laying in graves with headstones not featuring the flag but in Peters own analysis, a botanically incorrect silver fern.

The fern, regardless of the colour, is symbolic of New Zealand, certainly more so than the Union Jack.

But the New Zealand First leader has an argument on that one as well. The Union Jack, he says, isn't only our historical anchor but represents the rule of law, parliamentary democracy, freedom of the press and the very language we speak. It's doubtful his own Maori whanau would agree with that though.

If we change the flag he argues that everything we've ever achieved under it will account for nothing, like our Olympic Golds, our World Cup and other famous sporting victories to name but a few. Tell that to Richie McCaw who's now arguing for change.

Peters says Key clearly believes only his flag will make New Zealand great which he argues is Key at his most pompous.

That pomposity ranks the current flag alternatives as the Lockwood blue and black at the top, following by the red and blue, the Red Peak, the silver fern on black and lastly the Koru.

He took the very same thoughts right out of my head!