Editorial: Red tape almost strangles Anzac Day

Mark Dawson, Editor of Wanganui Chronicle

Hundreds marched at Whanganui's Anzac Day dawn parade yesterday, proudly displaying their medals, various insignia and, of course, red poppies.

How bizarre would it have been if those displays of remembrance and service had been covered up by bright orange high-visibility vests as was, at one stage, going to be a requirement for this long-cherished commemoration.

The orange army on the march would have looked ridiculous and, in the end, the high-vis vests weren't needed.

Anzac Day 2017: No casualties.

Other bureaucratic demands - a liquor licence to serve the traditional tot of rum; compliance certificates for the urns that the after-service coffee is served from and other suffocating, time-sucking boxes to be ticked. Boxes that come neatly tied up in red tape.

Whanganui's veterans and RSA manager and chief Anzac Day organiser Kyle Dalton survived the salvos fired by overly-fastidious rule-makers - in fact, they came through with flying colours - but how much more of this are they likely to face next year?

Correction:
Anzac Day 2017: One casualty - common sense.

The bureaucratic creep seems to be everywhere and spreading like a virus.

Today on Page 2 we report on a Whanganui couple who had to pay more than $1000 to meet council compliance requirements to replace an already existing door. These are the sort of costs that are hitting businesses daily.

Last year, I seem to recall Paula Bennett leading a rules reduction taskforce - cheered on by our own MP Chester Borrows - that was going to cut through the red tape, reduce compliance costs and obliterate the sillier aspects of bureaucracy.

What the heck went wrong?