New Zealand tells Australia: Stop ‘copying’ our flag

New Zealand's acting Prime Minister Winston Peters has accused Australia of copying his country's flag, telling its neighbor to get its own design. 

"We had a flag that we've had for a long time, copied by Australia," Peters told local network TVNZ on Tuesday. 

"They (Australia) should actually change their flag and honor the fact that we got there first with this design," added Peters, who is filling in for Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern while she is on maternity leave.

The flags are indeed similar. Both are based on the British ensign, with a dark blue background, a United Kingdom Union Flag in the top left corner and the Southern Cross star constellation.

Among the few distinguishing features is that Australia's stars are white, rather than red and the flag also features an extra star with seven points representing the Australian states and territories.

New Zealand's flag was adopted in 1902, five decades before Australia's current flag was officially recognized in 1954. Though various versions of the Australian flag have been used since 1901.