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The Maori sovereignty flag could yet fly over the Auckland Harbour Bridge.
Maori Party MPs plan to ask their coalition partners National next week to raise the flag on Waitangi Day.
When it's dead calm in Auckland you would be hard pressed to tell what flag flies over the harbour bridge.
In the past it could have been anything from the stars and stripes on September 11 to the Italian colours or one to promote the America's Cup.
Yet last Waitangi Day, a convoy brought traffic to a crawl after Transit New Zealand refused to hoist the tino rangatiratanga flag over the Auckland landmark So will they be allowed this time?
"I'm not in a position to rule it out completely," says Steven Joyce, Transport Minister.
"What I do want to do is make sure the transport agency isn't involved in these political toos and fros. They've got a job to run the transport system of New Zealand and I want them to focus on that."
He cannot rule it out because the Maori Party co-leader, Pita Sharples, has promised to raise the issue at Cabinet next week.
While some might ask 'what's the big deal?' others see an important early test for the two new political partners.
Maori Party MP Hone Harawira is right behind his boss.
"There's a lot more things we'd rather have but as a symbolic act on Waitangi Day, the flying of the two flags gives Maori a sense that we are becoming closer to the partnership that the Treaty always talked about," says Harawira.
The Maori sovereignty flag debuted in 1990. Plenty have adopted it, though not all. For 173 years many have seen the declaration of independence flag as setting the standard for Maori flags.
"We can have all the flags we want. If you have 200 flags let it
fly. But remember there is only one true flag that talks about tino
rangatiratanga - the 1835 declaration of independence flag," says
Kingi Tauroa of Ngapuhi Kaumatua.
