New Zealand's acting¹ Prime Minister Winston Peters has accused Australia of copying his country's flag, telling its neighbor to get its own design.

日前，新西兰代总理温斯顿·彼得斯指责澳大利亚抄袭新西兰的国旗，并喊话这个“邻居”去设计属于自己的国旗。

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

彼得斯上周二在接受新西兰电视台采访时称：“我们已经使用这个国旗很长时间了，但被澳大利亚抄袭了。”

"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 maternity² leave.

在女总理雅琳娜·阿尔登休产假期间代理新西兰总理的彼得斯表示：“他们（澳大利亚）实际上应该改变他们的国旗，并尊重我们最先使用这一设计的事实。”

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 constellation³.

两国国旗非常相似，均以英国旗帜为基础，背景为深蓝色，左上角为英国米字旗，代表两国都是英联邦国家，都采用南十字星座图案。

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.

两者的区别是：澳大利亚的恒星是白色的，而不是红色的，而且国旗上还有一颗额外的恒星，其中恒星七个点代表澳大利亚各州和地区。

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.

新西兰1902年开始采用这一国旗。澳大利亚则要晚50多年，于1954年才正式采用现有国旗。但在1901年使用过类似设计的国旗。

Peters' comments come at a delicate time in trans-Tasman relations, after the detention⁴ of a 17-year-old New Zealander in an adult detention facility in Melbourne, Australia, earlier this month that sparked outrage⁵ in New Zealand's capital, Wellington.

彼得斯的此番言论发表在两国关系的微妙时刻。在本月早些时候，在澳大利亚墨尔本的一个成人拘留所拘留了一名17岁的新西兰人之后，引发了新西兰首都惠灵顿方面的愤怒。

Australia has deported⁶ hundreds of New Zealanders in recent years, but the incident involving the 17-year-old boy marked a low point in relations between firm allies, according to some analysts⁷.

据一些分析人士称，澳大利亚近年来已将数百名新西兰人驱逐出境，但涉及这名17岁男孩的事件标志着两个盟友之间关系已至低谷。