shaking our heads and wading through the unwieldy murkiness that seems to be the hallmark of those that should be there to help us.
The morning began reasonably amiably after the welcome resolution of previous inanities, courtesy of the Water Corporation. Where our house water meter had originally been placed, the installers, in an extraordinary act of incomprehension, anchored the meter at ninety degrees to our fence, rather than parallel to the fence. Which meant the meter impinged onto what was to be our second driveway.
After much gnashing of teeth, we requested a relocation of the device. To move it less than half a metre and rotate it by ninety degrees cost us a cool $456. We paid the fee and waited for an acknowledgement of a day and time. And waited some more.
Finally, towards the end of last week, we were visited by Bill, who rocked up as a most intelligent representative of the Water Corp. He apologised profusely for the delay. Apparently, nobody at all, apart from Bill, had read and tried the phone number on the work order. Everyone else assumed this minor plumbing job was somehow attached to the ongoing works at the new Cornerstone Building. So, the Shire of Beverley had been rung repeatedly about our job and had come up a blank. Bill was the only one who had the sense to try ringing the number on the order. And thus, we met this outstanding individual.
Bill promised to move heaven and earth to have our meter moved as soon as possible. But we were still very impressed when a Water Corp crew rocked up this very morning and completed the task swiftly and efficiently. And we can safely assume that the $456 fee didn't go directly to the willing workers.
At least the job had been done.
That was the high point of the morning. We then endeavoured to sort out the mysterious cancellation of Michael's Driver's License. Somehow, the Department of Transport - DoT (doesn't that sound touchy-feely) - had identified an issue with Michael's medical certificate provided by our GP and failed to follow this problem up. With the GP or us.
Hence, Michael's license duly expired on 29 May and we only realised he had no license this week. I began orchestrating a telecommunications juggling act between ourselves, the doctors' surgery and the DoT. What did not help at all was Telstra's continuing failure to provide us with a line that did not drop out. We do not live in a remote area. We live in the centre of town. We use Telstra phones. Give. Me. Strength.
I will not go into the protracted nature of these multiple phone calls. I just kept looking for a handy wall onto which I could beat my head. Finally, at two o'clock we strode to the Shire office in triumph, assured that we would just walk in, pay the license fee and walk out.
Almost. We decided to check the status of any pensioner discounts for which we may be eligible. To our surprise, we were due for DoT refunds. Which involved another form each after the other forms we'd filled in and downloaded. We shall receive the credit in due course; about six weeks from now. In cheque form, rather than directly into our accounts. DoT loves forms, loses forms, delays forms and sits on forms.
Now for my soapbox. Prime Minister Turnball and his Liberal colleagues wish to deliver a staged series of tax cuts, favouring the most highly paid. This concerns me as I wonder which services will be underfunded in order to achieve this goal. I have sat on the phone for ninety minutes to speak to Centrelink, thirty minutes for the DoT (I know this is a state government agency) and listened to the ongoing rumblings of a potential privatisation of the ABC. Our national independent broadcaster. This can't be allowed to happen. Telstra, which has been privatised, in an ongoing series of failures and the National Broadband Network is still a disaster, caused by the current government's mismanagement.
The day was saved by our retreat into the courtyard for more arranging of pots and knick-knacks. The frangipani no longer resembles the Leaning Tower of Pisa, having been re-positioned in a much larger pot. Our precious little pottery, metal and fibreglass animals and chooks and caterpillars are taking up residence with the plants. We have worked out where the BBQ is going. The glass outdoor table is in place. Our courtyard is coming to life.
What a wonderful end to a somewhat trying day.
Who's there?
Yep...
Which means that people like us living in regional areas are still f#@*ed!
Service charge - massive Water Use Charges - depends on the season Our Bill - every sixty days...
Not the excuse that the Water Corp used for our delay!
Hahahahahahahahaha...
Is anybody there?
Many thanks to Sheridan at the Shire of Beverley licensing office for her professional knowledge, her cheerful attitude and for completing the renewal of Michael's driver's license as painlessly as possible.
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