Doubts, fears and the Australian ID card
Email Print Normal font Large font April 24, 2006

Concerns about the privacy of individuals are as important as ever and
ought not be compromised.

Whenever the Federal Government discusses its plans for a
"smartcard" - which would allow citizens to electronically access
Medicare and other government services - speculation inevitably strays
to the possibility that a compulsory national ID card will also be
introduced. Is the "smartcard" a way of accustoming people to the
notion of a national ID card? The smartcard would have a photo ID and
a computer chip allowing bureaucrats to access personal information.
It would not be compulsory, but most people over 18 would need one
because it is the only way they would have access to government money
including Medicare, Austudy, child-care benefits, pensions and
pensioner concessions, the family tax benefit, unemployment benefit
and maternity payments.
Last month, Treasurer Peter Costello said the proposed smartcard would
contain more information than the controversial Australia Card, the
Hawke government version of the ID card, which the Liberal Party
opposed most vehemently in the 1980s. The Liberals and a large segment
of the public were then concerned about the potential of such a card
to intrude upon privacy. Since then the use of computers and plastic
cards to store and send information has become commonplace, and anyone
with access to the internet is aware that sending emails, or even
conducting private research, are activities that can potentially be
tracked by others. Most people take some comfort in the fact that the
sheer volume of information that is sent and received by computer is a
surveillance deterrent. The potential for abuse exists but, for the
most part, the systems in place are safe. This may be one reason why
the mooted smartcard is not raising the same alarms as the Australia
Card.
Nevertheless the information that would be held on the smartcard would
still be open to the possibility of manipulation or abuse; this is
always the case when information is centralised and stored on
computers. Moreover, private internet use is voluntary, but those
wishing to access government funds would have to use the smartcard.
Backers of the card say it would save hundreds of millions of dollars
annually by curbing health and welfare fraud. This has to be weighed
against the huge cost of implementing the card (more than $1 billion
over several years) as well as the possibility that the card will be
misused - either by bureaucrats mismanaging the information, or
because of interference by hackers, or through identity theft.
These concerns are not trivial and they need to be thoroughly debated
and investigated, but for reasons that can be explained by political
convenience, the smartcard may not face the same scrutiny as was
planned for the proposed ID card. A public inquiry into the need for
ID cards was declared necessary in January, but has not yet
eventuated. Since then, Human Services Minister Joe Hockey has talked
about the plan to introduce the smartcard. In a Department of Finance
paper written last July, the ID card was described as "likely to be
the prime authentication token for gaining access to government and
private sector services".
As The Age reported on Saturday, when Prime Minister John Howard
called for ID cards to be considered for security reasons - a call
that came in the wake of the London bombings - Justice Minister Chris
Ellison wrote that the cards would "pose a number of security and
privacy problems". In 2004 a Privacy International report found no
evidence that ID cards would help fight terrorism.
Last month Mr Costello said he believed people wanted the Government
to protect their privacy more - including from government itself. The
proposed smartcard offers the possibility of faster and more efficient
delivery of government services - aims that are worth pursuing - but
these must be balanced against the cost of producing the card and the
possibility that it will be viewed with mistrust by the citizenry.
Suspicions that the Government is introducing an ID card by stealth
ultimately will not help the card's cause. Why should the people trust
the Government if it is not open and honest about its intentions?
http://www.theage.com.au/news/editorial/doubts-fears-and-the-australian-id-card/2006/04/23/1145730805725.html

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