These words came from Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews less than two months ago as he announced he was waiving stamp duty, land tax and vehicle duty to help fire-affected communities in the North East and Upper Murray.

What that demonstrates is, when needed, governments can move swiftly to assist those doing it tough.

On that occasion, it was in response to bushfires which ravaged Victoria, along large parts of the rest of the country.

Here we are just eight weeks down the track and we are dealing with a different threat, this time in the form of coronavirus.

IN OTHER NEWS:

The pandemic has wreaked havoc all over the globe and the Border and North East hasn't been spared, with scores of events already cancelled or postponed.

Albury's biggest social event, the Gold Cup, regularly attracts a crowd of 12,000-plus, due in no small part to the city's half-day public holiday.

But, as Australian Industry Group regional manager Tim Farrah said to The Border Mail earlier this week, there's no need for the half-day holiday when people can't attend the cup and our city's businesses are crying out for help in tough economic times.

Mr Farrah called on Albury Council to "pull out all stops" to have the holiday reversed by the NSW Government, which has said the gazetted day must remain because "the Public Holidays Act 2010 (NSW) requires that declarations be published at least seven days prior to the public holiday".

So now we will find ourselves in the ridiculous situation on Friday with no one being able to attend the Gold Cup and a city full of businesses who will either have shut down after lunch or be forced to pay through the nose to remain open.

All because the NSW Government doesn't have the "legislative capacity" to rescind the public holiday in less than seven days.

The cup hasn't been run yet, but already, Strangled By Bureaucracy wins it by a nose.