At first glance, it was a relatively easy mistake to make.   

Whoever was charged with setting up the dramatic display of flags outside Australia’s parliament had to hoist a total of 44 banners in place.  

The grand presentation on Capital Hill was supposed to be honouring the 125th anniversary of the first occasion on which Australia’s flag was flown. The irony? Whoever was on hoisting duty accidentally included two New Zealand flags, by mistake.  

And while we might scoff and write it off as the Aussies not understanding the difference between red and white or the difference between four and six, a more generous read of the situation will understand how someone in a rush might accidentally confuse the two and hoist the wrong flag, even outside their own parliament.  

It's ten years since John Key’s flag referendum. A decade on, it all makes for a bit of a quaint memory today. They were simpler times.  

But as a reporter based in New York, I distinctly remember being charged with a fascinating reporting assignment at the time. We wanted to find a diverse spread of people from all over the world, and figured it’d be hard to beat an afternoon doing vox-pops in the heart of Times Square. 

I had a camera, a microphone and the New Zealand flag. And to tourists from all over the world I asked a simple question: Where is this from? 

“Australia,” they said.  

“Australia.” Time and again.  

“That flag’s from Australia.”  

As a proud dual citizen, I don’t want to come across as hating on our Tasman brethren. But surely a central purpose, if not the central purpose of a flag is to distinguish your country or grouping from others.  

I want to be clear: given the challenges we collectively face today, I am not advocating our politicians spend any time or resource changing our national banner. The moment’s passed and while it might return at some point in the future, I think we’d all prefer they focus on the economy and the cost of living right now.   

But as you enjoy the smorgasbord of amazing sport this weekend, keep one eye on the crowds. Yes, there will be some New Zealand flags among those in Soweto. But something tells me there will be all manner of different flags supporting our favourite teams (for what it’s worth, personally, I still reckon a silver fern on a black background is the way to go).  

Although the whole flag referendum process was a bit of a fiasco, ten years on, this week we've been served a plain reminder. Another country mistakenly raising not one, but two of our flags outside of their parliament because they can’t distinguish the difference, is surely all the evidence you need. John Key was right.