No change to services Services in the region
Anzac Day commemorations in the Nelson region are going ahead as planned, despite many others around New Zealand being cancelled.
Nelson city and Tasman district services on April 25 are remaining as they have done in recent years, unaffected by the recent terror attacks in Christchurch.
Nelson RSA president Barry Pont said everything would be going ahead as normal with the three services around Nelson, including the 6am dawn parade at Anzac Park, the Nelson City Council service at the Church Steps at 10.30am, and the Stoke parade at the Stoke Memorial Hall at 10.30am.
Pont said there would be the ‘‘normal RSA parades’’.
Some Anzac Day services and events have been cancelled and changed, particularly in Auckland and Christchurch, as the national terror risk remains high after the mosque shootings in Christchurch last month.
‘‘I think it’s mainly because the local councils and police are stretched, but we have no issues in Nelson,’’ Pont said.
A police statement issued by Commissioner Mike Bush said there was no information of a specific threat to Anzac Day, but the national threat level still remained high.
Bush said that while the advice to consolidate services in some regions was disappointing for some people, ‘‘our priority is public safety , and we will not compromise on this’’.
RSA Richmond-Waimea president Ross Norgate said everything would be ‘‘exactly as it was last year’’.
The Richmond service meeting point will be at Sundial Square at 10.45am before a march to the War Memorial Gardens in Cambridge St.
Other services in Tasman include Tapawera, Brightwater, Wakefield, Motueka, Murchison, Mapua, Upper Moutere, Tasman, Riwaka, Ngatimoti, Takaka, Collingwood and Lake Rotoiti.