The colourful contenders for New Zealand's new flag

New Zealand's government is taking submissions for new designs for its national flag - and while it is far from certain that the country will change its flag, plenty of people have been putting their suggestions forward.

Below is a gallery of some of the more striking entries - you can see all the submissions here.

Southern Kiwi, by Aku A from Waikato, one of many kiwi-themed entries

Blue Sky, Blue Sea by Phil Plunkett: "Keep it simple Bro! Everyone has a blue sheet at home they can cut up, Bam! 12 flags from one sheet."

Gains, by Logan Wu from Wellington. "New Zealand has come a long way since colonialisation in many ways."

Happy Kiwi by Davy Lee from Auckland: "Because it portrays that we are a nation of happy, harmless kiwis."

Red, by Phil Plunkett, again. "Red is cool. Looks fast and easy to make. Dragons and Ninjas like red."

Te Pepe, by David Astil from Waikato. "That feel when our eyes gaze upon the flightless and majestic rare-Kiwi bird is a classic icon of NZ's deep relationship with our ancestors, their spirit, land and culture."

Good Flag, by James Ireland from Auckland. "Animals, nature, blah, blah, blah."

Fire the Lazar! by James Gray from Auckland. "The laser beam projects a powerful image of New Zealand. I believe my design is so powerful it does not need to be discussed."

Blu Green Blu, by Phil Plunkett from Auckland, once again. "Keep it simple Bro! Simple crisp design, can be flown upside down, inside out, back to front."