Colonial vestiges

Although the apparent need for a new New Zealand flag seems to have quietened for the moment, I think it is a good idea to examine our colonial vestiges.

In my brief encounter with New Zealand literature, the colonial past and wether or not we are living in "land that we cannot really call ours" has been explored. Yet, I still see a nation still deciding to complete the move away from that history. Thus, I deem the proposal of "deleting the Union Jack" from our supposedly conservative Prime Minister very ironic.

Doesn't all british-ensign-based flags including ours signify this vestigial connection to an empire that no longer exists/barely exists(if you count the British Overseas Territories)? Given our keeping left traffic directionality, and similarity to legal systems based on English common law(which in effect was exported by the same people who came up with it) amongst many other examples, is there a need to be ashamed of a minor one - the current flag?