A flag is a flag and nothing else at the end of the day, so do we really need a change. Personally, I think this is nothing more than a smokescreen to take some of the heat off the real issues facing our wonderful nation.
Having said the above, if the flag is going to be changed the silver fern, in some form, is probably one of the more recognisable emblems readily associated with New Zealand. We see the black flag with silver fern flying or waving regularly at sporting events around the world, so it's not a big step up to have the same as our official national flag.