Crab:
"utter bo**ocks Krypton John, you clearly have an agenda to pursue here."
No agenda,other than the pursuit of common sense over a slavish adherence to regs.
"Note that your heroic policewoman (and she did an excellent job) was off-duty and may have been constrained by professional protocols had she been on-duty on the beach."
Now you are making stuff up.
"If you don't understand the dangers posed by swift-water (and by this I mean inland flooding not coastal tides) then you should try standing up in 2 feet of water moving at 5 mph - some of the 'special training' you dismiss so readily."
Why are you bringing this "swift water" into this? Neither example cited had any "swift water".
"Surely even in NZ" you understand the first rule of first aid is not to become another casualty????"
Well obviously. It's called judgement and experience and it's what you use instead of looking up regulations to tell you what to do or not to do.