Local RSA president defends move to have NZ poppies made abroad

Wanganui's RSA president Graeme Pleasants has said the decision to have NZ poppies produced abroad makes economic sense.
He also hoped it would bring an end to inter-branch bickering.
A row between Auckland and Christchurch over the cost of the poppies had intensified to a point where the national body decided it had no other choice but to seek a peaceful solution.
Auckland said it could have them made cheaper while Christchurch had no intention of surrendering a contract it had held since 1931.
After months of soul-searching by the RSA's national body, the upshot is that from 2012, Australian company Cash will assemble the 1.2 million poppies, the parts for which will be made in China.
Cost savings over time are expected to be substantial.
The downside is that New Zealand war veterans' widows and people with intellectual disabilities will lose their jobs making them.
Not surprisingly the move has outraged Christchurch RSA, which employed war veterans and later people with disabilities to make the poppies.
President Russ Barron said the national body's decision was disgusting. "The New Zealand poppy is an icon, manufactured in New Zealand for New Zealanders."
The RSA employs about 20 workers at Kilmarnock Enterprises, which provides training and work for people with intellectual disabilities. War widows also helped out during peak production, Mr Barron said.
There were likely to be job losses at Kilmarnock Enterprises and Christchurch RSA.
Mr Barron believed poppy sales would drop off if they were no longer New Zealand-made. "There are going to be servicemen who will probably refuse to have poppies because they have mates who were killed by the Chinese (in the Korean war)," he said.
Mr Pleasants, recently elected to the national committee, said the decision to move production offshore wasn't taken lightly.
"I can understand people's feelings. A lot of our members won't be happy, but we have to deal with reality here. Our shirts, computers, TVs are all made in China. Just about everything is made in China these days. Most of us drive Japanese cars."
Mr Pleasants said he couldn't say exactly how much would be saved with the move offshore, but he estimated it could be quite substantial over five years.
"The money saved could be put back into the associations. We could purchase more mobile scooters. Things like that."
RSA chief executive Stephen Clarke said the decision to move production overseas was "not easy" and he expected opposition. However, cheaper costs meant more money for RSA services.
"It's probably in the region of $150,000 over the whole country ... as a charity, it's about maximising the return to servicemen and women and their families."
Kilmarnock chief executive Rosemary Carr said she was sad to lose the contract, worth $132,000 to the workshop. "Our employees take a great deal of pride in assembling the poppies."