Dear Ministry of Social Development,

I appreciate your reply regarding drivers licences and ID.

I wish to know the following information please.

1. What are all of the acceptable forms of identification being asked for by MSD?
2. Are government superannuation recipients, the largest number of welfare recipients we have, being asked to provide identification and if not why not?
3.What happens if a client does not hold a drivers licence?
4. Why are clients not being asked to provide “any” lawful means of identification rather than directly for a drivers licence?
5. The entire contents of the policy requiring drivers licences you mention in your previous reply to me 26 August.
6. Why do case managers seeking this information not know why they are seeking it nor able to explain why? The Act reauire an explanation of why information is being sought.

I note you placed private info into the last OIA. I appreciate you did not post that publicly thank you kindly but have concern you take such an action. These requests are not about me at all.

Yours faithfully,

Gregory Soar

Dear OIA_Requests (MSD),

Ngā mihi nui

I took legal advice out of CLAW Whanganui re seeking drivers licence as ID. Any form of lawful ID may be given as chosen by the person required to prove their ID.

This is why I made the request. Some of us are damaged by life. Raped. Sexually abused. Bashed as children. Some of us develop and are diagnosed with severe mental conditions post such horrendous experiences. You may read the recent report into abuse in state care.

To bully people into giving a form of ID they may not have wished to give literally may cause harm to those victims of abuse. Some of our brains are red hot iron branded to not accept abuse. Bullying is a mental abuse with real harms. This is for life in many cases. To not make it clear one needs to prove ID by using any of the lawful means is bad enough but to seek one form only is short sighted for the reasons stated herein.

That you have not learned post your criminal acts of forgery thus fraud that also was mentally abusive to many isn’t good enough. To organise and direct staff to commit crimes punishable by significant jail terms is simply a criminal bullying abuse that harms. Have you studied the suicide rate and causes inNZ? I would say that a duty of care is long absent and nowhere in sight yet?

Talking with respect and honesty is how we progress to betterment. My purpose here is to-ask the gentleman who replied privately to remember the duty of care for the mental health of those MSD serves. It isn’t that we are nasty people. It is that we are being raped a second time by bullying and a lingering lack of duty of care for others. For that to still be perpetrated and perpetuated by one of our own NZ Government organisations is indeed a shocker to the highest degree.

I ask you cease actions that are bullying for all clients. I ask you remember your duty of care when dealing with others. I ask that you learn. I also consider you advised of my needs and to desist in these abuses that bring harm. We don’t allow it in schools or work places for good reason. One of those reasons is that our suicide rate is already a shameful indicator.

Yours sincerely,

Gregory Soar