A FORMER Gunnedah minister has been accused of neglecting to send official marriage documents away after at least three couples from the town have had their union deemed invalid.
Reverend Stefan Slucki worked at St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church in Gunnedah between 1999 and 2002 and was being blamed for failing to send marriage certificates to the NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages.
Gunnedah couple Jodie and Marcus Hucker were married at the church in front of 90 guests in May 2002.
It was not until Mrs Hucker had legal difficulties renewing her passport,she found out her marriage wasn’t registered.
“It was shocking. We found out on our fifth wedding anniversary our marriage wasn’t registered,” she said.
“We paid for the wedding ourselves and for a while we thought we paid $10,000 for a practice run.
“We just want anyone married by this minister to check into their marriage.”
After 18 months of legal paperwork and providing evidence, Mrs Hucker said her marriage was now officially registered.
“We received a two-page letter from the Attorney General’s office of what we had to provide to prove we were married,” Mrs Hucker said.
“I couldn’t even change my licence when I moved back to NSW (from Queensland) last year. They said they couldn’t give it to me in my married name.
“It got really frustrating after that. The church offered to marry us again but we said we wanted the date we were originally married because our son’s birth certificate would then be wrong.
“He’s still working as a minister and nobody knows what’s been happening or for how long.”
Gunnedah resident Kylie Williams has been separated for three years and is now fighting a battle to prove the existence of her marriage.
“I was very angry and furious about the matter,” she told The Leader.
“This has caused a lot of grief and heartache for what is already a difficult situation.
“No one has even given me an apology. I can understand one (form lost), but not when there’s three.”
When contacted by The Sydney Morning Herald on Friday, Mr Slucki who now preaches in South Australia, rejected he was responsible for the mess,
He said all paperwork had been posted and questions should be directed to
Australia Post or the NSW Attorney-General.
Under the Births, Deaths and Marriages Registration Act, he is required to send all paperwork to the registry within 14 days of the
ceremony.
“I was quite surprised when I was first contacted about this last August,” Mr
Slucki said.
“In my 21 years as a minister and marriage celebrant I have never had this problem before.
“I have no control over the mail once it is put in the box. I have no idea where the marriage register is.”
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