Early Edition with Kate Hawkesby

A few years ago, we had a bunch of stories about Santa parades getting cancelled because of red tape and traffic management. NZTA was the Grinch that stole Christmas. And guess what, two years in, despite a change of Government, despite a Minister and Ministry of Regulation, despite the road cone tip line, the Grinch is back. This time it’s Piopio. Population around 500. Rural. Between Hamilton and New Plymouth. SH3. They want to close the road on the main which is their usual route. It’s close from 5:30pm to 8pm. Two and half hours. Kids get to see Santa’s sleigh riding through town. Lollies would presumably be thrown from floats driven behind Utes - or do they still throw lollies, or would you be fined for hitting somebody?  Anyway, you get the idea. We’ve all been to a Santa parade - great fun when you’re a kid. Guess how much it was going to cost them because of the Grinch’s traffic rules and the resulting bill for traffic management costs? It would normally cost around $1000. This year? $10,000