Solutions Empowerment Victories: Success Stories & Strategies
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Source document
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Source document
I downloaded module 76 over a year ago and I wondered what the source document would be called. Since I didn’t think that the state would have a document called ‘source document’ in the legislation, I paid the state library a visit and searched for the births, deaths, and marriages legislation that would have been in force during the year of my advent. It was in the Act of 1966 that I found S15 which says: “(1) The parent of every child born alive in the State, within sixty days from the date of birth, furnish or cause to be furnished particulars for the registration of the birth. (2) The particulars to be furnished for the registration of a birth shall be furnished in an information statement in accordance with the form in the Fifth Schedule.” (The Fifth Schedule is found in appendix X of the same act.)
So I took photocopies of the pages with S15 and also the Fifth Schedule and worded the document that came with module 76 to be sent off to the registry office, but didn’t make a hard copy. Then I sat on things for a few months thinking: “Do I want to send that letter, or do I want to go there in person?” I had discovered where the registry office was but didn’t go in because I felt I wasn’t ready but still always had the photocopies of the two pages I had copied from the state library.
Then one day almost on a whim I went into the registry office, went to the welcome desk where a man pleasantly said “Hello. How can I help you?” I returned the pleasantries in kind and told him that I was looking for the information statement taking the form of the fifth schedule that my father would have filled out within four days of my being born. (the birth certificate appeared 4 days after my being born)
He gave me an application form for a birth registration statement. I told him that the birth registration statement only became a thing around 1986 and that my advent was before that year and that the form my father filled out would have been an information statement in the form of the fifth schedule. Not a ‘birth registration statement’. “Here, I’ll show you.” I said while taking out the copies from the library and showing them to him. “Hmm,…I’ll give you a ticket to see someone at the counter.” he said.
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Now it’s important that I say at no time was I hostile. I did not go in with the attitude that I was going to teach them a lesson or tell them what I thought I knew. As Mark says in one of his videos: “They aren’t stupid.” It was the video where he asked someone what they meant by asking him about his ‘denomination’.
I was always civil and conducted myself with honor and they did the same in kind.
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I had my ticket and waited for the number to come up. *DING DONG DONNNG “Ticket A 5. Please go to counter 4”* I made my way to counter 4 where a man built like a brick shithouse was waiting for me. His physical stature offset by his pleasant demeanour. After exchanging pleasantries I said to him what I was after and showed him the copies I took from the state library. “It sounds like you after a live birth record.” He showed me an example of one on his monitor which didn’t look anything like the Fifth Schedule. “A live birth record?” I asked. “I think I’ve heard of that. Is it the same thing as the information statement taking the form of the Fifth Schedule that my father would have furnished in accordance with Section 15 of the births, deaths, and marriages act that was in force during my advent?” He wasn’t sure and asked if he could take those copies I had shown him earlier so he could ask someone higher up.
He disappeared for several minutes and came back saying that the application would be a little different then that for a birth registration statement. I noticed that the application said that I was applying for a record taken from ‘a book’. I thought to myself about how the state doesn’t recognize the living and so this might be going in the right direction. I asked him some questions about what part do I fill out and this and that. Paid the fee over the counter and was instructed to get somebody to verify some id documents since I didn’t want a digital id or anything along those lines but I didn’t tell him that.
I chose a pharmacist since it’s too much hassle to go to a cop shop to verify things. With the verified copies of the documents and the application form in hand (it took me about a week) I went back to the registry office and submitted them. Around a week later I received a text message telling me that the document was ready.
I just hope it’s the right one…
Here is what they sent with some of the more sensitive information being redacted by myself. It is a little curious why there is a red line near the bottom.
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4 Replies
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Would the red line be where they have crossed out the question of deceased children at the time??
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I’m not sure.
Another interesting point is the fact that a government worker was using a red pen. But don’t they tell us all not to use them?
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It looks like the right thing to me based on what I received here in NZ
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That’s good to know.
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