The tale of the trailer ...

Is it just me, or have you also noticed that Australian bureaucracy is completely out of control? I recall an instance some time ago now when Cath had to renew her passport. We filled in the forms, had the photos taken and duly presented ourselves for our appointment on time. Cath’s previous passport was in her maiden name, so we had her driver’s license and our marriage certificate and a host of other identifying documents. But no – her application rejected on grounds that there was no proof that her name had changed. No matter how much we remonstrated, the official was unmoved. Apparently Cath had to apply to her state of birth to register a change of name. What evidence did she have to provide in order to effect this official name change we asked? A marriage certificate and a driver’s license was the response. The total absurdity of the situation seemed lost on the other party. Cath wrote a very amusing letter to the appropriate Federal minister, posing the question “Who am I?” Of course we got no response.

Yesterday was our first day out of quarantine. We revved the car and as the time ticked over to 10 am (our official end time) we were off on a two person expedition to end the recession in Tasmania with serious retail therapy. First we relieved the local Post Office of a car load of deliveries left there during quarantine. Then it was on to the retail park. By lunch time we were on a high with a fridge, washing machine, dryer, microwave and vacuum all sorted. Next it was off to pick up the 8’ x 5’ box trailer we had ordered while in isolation. As you can see from the photo, it is a beauty with its 900 mm cage and mechanical brakes. We parted with the agreed sum and started to organize the registration. 

 

It was here that wheels came off. Our Queensland licenses were not appropriate for registration of a trailer in Tasmania. We had our passports (proof of identity)  and a rates notice (proof of address) but no, we needed either Tasmanian licenses or a CIN (customer identification number) in order for us to register the trailer. We could only obtain said CIN by attending at the appropriate arm of government. What proof did we have to produce to obtain a CIN … I think you can infer the rest. So we had to leave empty handed and return home more than a little deflated.

 

To be fair, the process of getting the CIN today was pretty painless, but really … Anyway, armed with our CIN’s we drove away with a spanking new trailer. Clearly the Roman philosopher Seneca  (ca. 4 BC – 65 AD) had it completely wrong when he wrote

“The first step in a person's salvation is knowledge of their sin.”  

 What he meant to say is that the key to salvation is knowledge of your CIN. 

We celebrated by immediately parking in a trailer bay at Bunnings (a big first for me) and buying yet more stuff!