Govt is biggest identity thief

WOULD you believe that I am still in the process of renewing my driver's licence?

What's the hold-up, you ask?

Well, it's a long story, some of the details you know already from a previous rant but the main problem is ID or in my case, lack of it, followed closely by the outrageous charges demanded for the "approved ID" documentation.

Just meeting today's basic living costs is struggle enough on a benefit. There's very little, if any, discretionary spending going on so having to fork out, in my case, hundreds of dollars to prove I am me is bloody near impossible with no disposable income, and no laughing matter.

But those who charge for and profit from such documents - they must be laughing all the way to the bank. The fees in some cases are obscene but with more and more places requiring multiple forms of photo ID it appears that, travel intentions or not, you're more or less forced to have one.

So no great surprise to read earlier in the week that New Zealand has some of the most expensive passport charges in the world and to add insult to injury the validity time is half that of the average.

Passports may be perfect as a form of photo ID but if you don't have the income or the inclination to travel it's an awful lot of money to spend on an item with such a short lifespan. I've seen canned goods with a longer shelf life.

My passport expired yonks ago and as it was the most expensive of the acceptable forms of ID I was forced to look for cheaper options. Little did I know what an ordeal it would all become.

It's the whole bloody irony of it. To get ID you need ID. I had my original birth certificate so that was a bonus and a great place to start until I was told it was too old.

Yes, you heard/read right. My birth certificate, the one with no expiry date, the one I had paid good money for, was too old to serve as a form of ID.

The clones, having just turned 18, are now at that age where they need ID for their own reasons - student loans, driver's licences, banking etc and yes, you guessed it, their birth certificates were also too old. So, I saved hard and rang Internal Affairs and ordered for all three of us. $87.50. The precious cargo arrived in a most timely fashion - no complaints there, the service was wonderful.

Not so impressed with the incorrect birth details on the clones' certificates, however. I kept my cool ... just one of those things ... mistakes happen, I thought, as I quickly took to the phone to advise them of their mistake. Here, I just as quickly lost my cool when I was told it was my fault.

I was told they just re-scan the original on to new paper (an admission to gross profiteering) so "the originals had to be wrong".

Now, I may not be the best mum in the world but I think even I would notice if the birth certificates I had been using for 18 years were wrong: naturally I argued my point. I eventually got put through to a supervisor who admitted the mistake was theirs and new ones would be issued ... once I had returned the incorrect copies at my own expense. I know, it's only a stamp and an envelope, but on my budget and for someone else's stuff-up, it's a bit on the nose.

With identity theft on the increase I can kind of understand the need for high standards and scrutiny but must it come at such a cost? As always, it is those who can least afford it that need it the most.

I can't apply for jobs without a current licence, I can't enrol at a learning institute or take out a student loan without multiple forms of suitable ID.

I've never been one for the blame game, but if the Government wants me off the benefit the very least it can do is make the acceptable form of identification affordable to everyone, especially if it is going to hide behind the small print, like giving perfectly legitimate birth certificates a little-known-about expiry date. Better yet, how about coming out with a new nationally accepted form of ID for a set rate of $10-$20 tops?

If the local council can microchip Waffle dog with the latest technology for $10 surely central government can come up with something suitable for us mere mortals. I'm so fed up with the whole rigmarole I'd settle for a numbered cattle tag in my ear or a freaking branding iron about now.

In the meantime, I'm left waiting on correct birth certificates before forking out close to another $50 for an 18+ photo ID card ... only then can I apply for the renewal that I was told would cost me just over $40.

This would make a cracking Tui ad. Yeah right ... it's such a shame that I don't have the necessary ID or income to buy alcohol.

-Kate Stewart is an unemployed, reluctant mother of three (adults), running amok in the city and can be contacted at investik8@gmail.com