I’ve finally had it with state bureacracies. My son (now 20) originally got his learners licence in NSW when he turned 16. He has worked full time since then so has not had a lot of time for lessons. He has moved state twice for his jobs during the last 5 years, once to Adelaide where he also obtained a learners licence and then to Canberra where his South Australian learners licence expired days after we arrived and before he could realistically prepare for a test in a foreign environment.
So he had to obtain the ACT learner licence at a further cost to himself for the compulsory Road Ready Course- even after holding a learners licence for 5 years. He was happy to do so. However, having established at both the Dickson and Civic Shopfronts that he did not need to have this ACT licence for the full six months prior to booking a licence test I am flummoxed today that he’s been told that ‘they have no proof that he had a South Australian licence’ and have refused to provide him with a licence test date- regardless of the fact that the Dickson shopfront made us wait at length while they faxed SA regarding his SA licence before granting him the ACT learner permit and that he was holding the expired SA licence in his hand while speaking to the woman from Canberra Connect.
My son pays a LOT of tax. All he wants is his licence but between his busy work schedule and our government bureaucracy I’m starting to wonder if he will ever get it. He is an honest, responsible citizen who has never put a foot wrong and is still attempting to comply with every hurdle this bureaucracy insists on putting before him. But it does make me question why it exists- why the replication? Does he go to work to pay taxes to fund these hurdles that are put before him which prevent him from going about his life? Why do we put people who move state (and their wallets) though the wringer?
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TVStar said :
Perfect. Could you please summarise every topic on RiotAct that has 50+ posts? Maybe you could start a website of your own RiotActDigest.com – I would sign up in a flash.
Yep – You’ve forgotton to mention in the dot points the summary that some knob is making in an effort to make sense of something that’s not very likely to be sensible.
Summary to this point:
– Mother asks question on behalf of son regarding renewing learners permit.
– Original poster tries to make some unknown point about son having paid tax.
– Original poster suggests ACT ‘bureaucracy gone mad!’
– Derision of bloggers initially only stopped by a short discussion regarding the 1999 Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) on tax reform, also known as the GST agreement, and federalism in the Australian context.
– Some pertinent international comparisons.
– Short survey of 400 years of western intellectual thought on the meaning and inevitability of taxes (mostly focused on English examples).
– Anecdotal but credible evidence presented that said son was in fact a vague knob when seeking to obtain learners permit a Civic Shopfront in basement of Civic Library, possibly on 16 September 2010.
– Further derision of original poster by bloggers made ‘angry’.
– Dickson Motor Vehicle Registry and staff compared with UK equivalents; accused of general public servant incompetence and stupidity.
– Son accused of being a latent homosexual.
Have I missed anything?
Any red blooded Aussie male who does not book his licence test to occur within a nano second of said person being eligible is, in my opinion “batting for the other team”.
Jim Jones said :
For a start, before about 70 years ago, the world was only in black and white. And then for a long time the colours were all kinda faded. I’m so glad I live now, in a brightly coloured world.
James-T-Kirk said :
Um … nope.
WHAT ^%$&^%^ PLANET ARE YOU ON JTK.
Most of the public servants in this town work incredibly hard, under trying circumstances to provide a good outcome for our clients.
Pull your head in.
peder said :
It is not Dickson registry you need to defend. It is the 80% of incompetent staff members who work there.
Sometimes, and just sometimes, you will get one who understands the rules. The rest of the time, you will encounter what is typical of the modern Public Service. Having seen 20+ years of government changes, the actual reality is that 20 years ago, Public Servants were competent, and specialised. They knew the rules, and were capable of independent thought. Now we have seen decades of mismanagement in the name of introducing efficiency measures, coupled with the inevitable movement of the clever individuals into other areas, we are seeing the new breed – the professional public servant who can walk into any job across the service, and bumble along, oblivious to the actual damage they are causing the country.
Thank god that the other 20% of public servants remain aware of the rules that they have to administer, and are aware of the reality that they are there to serve the public…..
Oh – Thats rigt – it is the ACT GOVERNMENT SERVICE, isn’t it – they are just there to serve the government.
It took you this long to get sick of bureaucracy!
Bet you’re glad you posted, aren’t you!!!
ThisIsAName said :
I will third Incompetent – Years ago we had a 62 falcon wagon – produced before seatbelts… The dumb, cretins, who failed their automotive apprenticeships in the inspection bays wouldn’t pass the car, because they didn’t like the way that the retrofitted seatbelts (fitted in 74) were mounted… The solution…… Take the belts out. No problem.
We used to get giggles of mirth when we were waiting in the queue during subsequent years, unbolting the belts, and telling the others waiting in line of the story. Got the pass stamp, re-fitted the belts, and off we went.
Snarky said :
I feel I’ve got to defend Dickson Registry here. I transferred my UK licence to an ACT licence last year without any problems. Staff were very efficient and helpful. It took about 20 minutes and I left with licence that day. No practical or theory driving test required. I think the only thing I had to do was an eye test at the counter. The UK driving licence is one of a handful of forieng licences that the ACT will do this for. Perhaps the rules have changed since you transferred back or perhaps you were seen by somebody who didn’t know what they were doing, but you can definitely just transfer.
Amanda Hugankis said :
I love you Amanda.
Keijidosha said :
I’ll second incompetent. Years ago my uncle returned some number plates at the Dickson rego (after a prang – damn bogan). The registry promptly “lost” the plates and, because there was no record of them being returned, couldn’t process the rego refund. The fix: stuff around and submit a stat dec. Done? No, someone couldn’t read properly and screwed up more details, resulting in another letter asking them to read things correctly. Eventually it got closed off, though could have been done way faster.
The Primus song ‘DMV’ is very apt here! 🙂
Actually – I read this post again, and its actually made me really angry. I know lots of people have a whinge on here, but the outrage is out of proportion with the issue.
I was thinking about my aunt and uncle who are in their 60s and caring for two girls in their 30s who have the physical and mental capacity of new born babies. They are forced to deal with bureacracy every day of the last 30+ years just to do the basic things. Every damn bureacracy you can think of, and then think up some more. And they do it – and they don’t complain. They just do what they have to do for their girls, as they haven’t got a choice.
And yet your capable, honest, taxpaying, hardworking son is complying with every ‘hurdle’ put in front of him? Really? And YOU’VE finally had it with the hurdles??? Email me and I’ll tell you all about the ‘hurdles’ my aunt and uncle deal with just to be able to feed, house and meet the health needs of their daughters, at a time when they should be looking at acquiring a Winnebago and camping on a beach in WA for 6 months, before deciding on a destination to while away the next 6. Woe betide your son should he ever have a child with a disability, or children full-stop with a full-time job and a mortgage … a few rules and regs seem like its all too much for him.
Rethink things. Start a gratitude journal. Remember the old saying – there is always someone worse off than you. Its true. We could all remember that – myself included.
End of rant/lecture/soapboxing/tirade.
amarooresident3 said :
YES – my sensational revelations will break this whole ‘bureaucratic bungling’ saga wide open when the Canberra Times or Wikileaks gets a hold of it! You think Cahill was something!
Skidbladnir said :
Indeed they do, and when they do, they just try and dismiss it. .. I’ve had them very recently cancel registration on a vehicle incorrectly and blatantly in breach of the regulations … and the Manager of Compliance refuses to believe they did anything wrong. …. its now being looked into by the ombudsman
Lol. 5 years and never had time to go for driving lessons or a test?
Did he never have holidays? Are there no driving schools operating on weekends?
C’mon people, licences are a priviledge not a right. They don’t just fall into people’s laps. People have to go out prove their worth and then be granted one. I am all for making people prove they are worthy for a licence.
One of the guys I work with has just finished a diploma that has taken him 4 years part time, and he works full time, has to travel as part of his job and is one hell of a worker.
You tell me that your son cannot find time to get his car license in 4 years, maybe it is best he don’t get it.
If he knew that his SA licence was expiring why did he not re-new it before he left SA? Common sense would have solved all his problems. The rush now to get his Ps seems ridiculous when he has had 3 or 4 years to do so already. it’s no surprise they won’t transfer an expired learners permit, if it was a full licence I would say that may be unreasonable due to proof of skill, a learner is a learner. Hope he enjoys the next 6 months learning to drive.