Children under 12 will no longer be allowed to participate in the national Anzac Day march in Canberra, after the Returned Services League (RSL) was told that the young marchers would not be covered by public-liability insurance.
The decision comes after last year’s march which saw a young child tripping and taking down an elderly person, who was then treated by paramedics.
John King, RSL’s ACT branch president, said it was understandable that the youngest marchers, who are also banned from riding in vehicles, would no longer be covered by public-liability insurance, and they have “set the age of 12 as an age limit that we feel children can reasonably understand what’s going on,” Radio Australia reported.
“[Kids 12 years and up can] be more across what’s going on and if they have to manage the person as a carer, that’s reasonable,” King said. “We’ve also spoken to the youth groups through our liaison officer and they’ve accepted the issue.”
King said only those kids who are capable can participate in the event.
“When the children are able to… they can actually be largely responsible and not cause some of these issues that have occurred in the past,” King said in the Radio Australia report. “They will grow up doing all the other areas that we’ve asked them to do in the march, and when they reach the age when their parents or the organisations feel that they’re capable, they will take their place in carrying placards and flags and other things within the march.”
