Back in July it was said it would take twelve (12) weeks, that's three (3) months, from date of application to receive your new passport. The backlog then totaled some 6,500 applications.

The reported causes are the "impending discontinuance of hand written passports" couple with the "summer rush".

So according to the Government Minister responsible for the Passport Office, the solution is to add a $200 fee to get your passport on a rush basis.

I realise I'm not the smartest tool in the shed, but what happens to those passports already in process when all new applicants need do is pay a fee and get to the head of the line?

Something is amiss? In order to correct an increasing backlog you make it even longer for those that have followed the process?

In typical fashion, the Minister defended, (maybe he concocted) this $200 idea, and offered no ideas for a permanent solution to a problem that has existed since just after passports were invented.

Surely the Minister can offer a little more to the long suffering public than charging an extra $200 to make longer delays?

You would think the the Minister in question would fix those departments under his direct control rather than campaigning in Long Island. But he's good at casting stones.

It's obviously easier fro him to create mischief than efficiency for the people he's supposed to be representing.