National identity and the flag change referendum: Examining the latent profiles underlying New Zealanders’ flag change support

The flag change referenda concluded with New Zealanders voting to retain their traditional flag. Within this context, we assess variability in flag change support across different ‘types’ (i.e., latent profiles) of New Zealanders. Participants (N = 220,318) indicated their support for eight core aspects of New Zealand’s socio-political landscape: Māori rights, immigration, internationalism, economic equality, the Commonwealth, nationalism, sport and secularism. Latent profile analyses identified six unique response patterns underlying support for these issues: Global Egalitarians, Domestic Egalitarians, Religious, Moderates, Secularists and National Secularists. Domestic and Global Egalitarians expressed socially and economically progressive views directed towards home and abroad (respectively), whereas the remaining profiles reported relatively conservative issue positions. That said, only Moderates supported (albeit reservedly) changing the flag. Results demonstrate the diversity of New Zealanders’ socio-political views and uncover previously-unknown dynamics behind attitudes toward the flag change.