This design, by Jonathan David Makepeace, uses a traditional European heraldic field division, nebuly (cloudy), to reflect the Maori name of the country, Aotearoa, the land of the long white cloud.  The colours white and green represent the country's two main islands, North Island, the original Aotearoa, and South Island, Te Wai Pounamu or Te Wahi Pounamu, the waters or place of greenstone.  The interlocking line is also meant to evoke the coming together of Maori and non-Maori in an unbreakable bond.