As Teflon John Key proudly posed for the cameras with a sheet of newly designed, brightly coloured, uncut twenty dollar bills up at the Reserve Bank, another of his pet projects was being unveiled across town at Te Papa, the final four New Zealand flag designs.

Key then held up the sheet of five dollar bills, assisted by Peter Hillary, the son of the man featured on them, the man who knocked the bastard off, Ed Hillary.

The sheets were about the size of a flag and some at their unveiling were quietly suggesting they could have given the final 40 down the road a run for their money.

Ironically the bank notes, which come into circulation next month, will be printed in a country that had the courage to shake it's most loved tree fifty years ago, and make the maple leaf the centrepiece of its flag.

Now God's Own is being given an opportunity to show the same courage as Canada and make the fern as ironic as the maple leaf.

Over the next few months we'll hopefully debate the merits and the demerits of the chosen four, and despite the critics, it seems the Flag Consideration Panel got it about right.

UMR Research did a survey of the final 40 and the public strongly opted for the two Kyle Lockwood designs to make the cut. 53% of those who took part in the survey chose the red, white and blue flag featuring the fern and the Southern Cross, while 51% went for the one with the black rather the red in the top, left hand corner.

The third choice from the panel, the silver fern on black and white, came in 14th with just eight percent opting for it, and the Koru design came in an 33 with just two percent including it in their top four.

It's easy to criticise the final four, and the cynical social media has gone feral. But the critics have failed to come up with anything better.

And they'd do well to reflect on how closely poised the great unwashed are when it comes to choosing between their most preferred choice and the current flag. 52% went for their favourite alternative and 48% opted to stick with the tried and true.

Of course those numbers will change once the final choice emerges after the first referendum later this year.

That'll almost certainly be the red, white and blue one, so start the comparison and reflect on the possible change.

It'll be your once in a lifetime opportunity!