[LINK] Dissent over Canberra's card

Adam Todd link at todd.inoz.com
Tue Jan 16 12:38:04 AEDT 2007


Hey if there is a National ID card, and all agencies use it.  Does that 
mean you need only do one FOI request to gain ALL information from 
everywhere about you?

I mean, lets face it, if you have a centralised database of information and 
linked data, then surely there can be one Federal Agency for FOI, with one 
single application fee and ALL data can then be consolidated into one place.

Now I'm all for this!

Do you know how many subpoena's I've had to issue to just get the basics 
about myself from the NSW POLICE!

I seem to have about 400 identities, and every department has a different 
ID for me, and every police officer has different information that each 
time you make a request you get something different, and then add in other 
agencies and it's a very costly process.  What you get under FOI is 
different to that produced under subpoena, but the subpoena doesn't often 
include all the FOI materials, and the FOI materials often include things 
not included in the Subpoena.

Perhaps this is just bureaucracy gone mad, or i's just the governments way 
of really F*ing itself up totally.  I'm not sure.

Yet.


I hope that in making it cheaper for Government Administration, it will 
also become cheaper for Public Access!


Anyway, a National ID card isn't going to change anything really.  Most 
people freely give their drivers licence and date of birth to anyone who 
asks.  Once you have those two bits, data matching is simple and constant.

Some people use their passport.

Either way, it's easy to trace a persons identity without too much 
effort.  It's just impossible to gain access to records!

A National ID card isn't going to suddenly prevent terrorism, fraud, or 
false identities, and it won't reduce or remove identity theft.

So anyone harping on those lines is fooling only themselves, and the 
millions of indoctrinated public sheep in our society.


(Oh I'm in a mood today!)


At 10:22 AM 16/01/2007, brd at iimetro.com.au wrote:
>Dissent over Canberra's card
>Karen Dearne
>JANUARY 16, 2007
>The Australian
>http://australianit.news.com.au/articles/0,7204,21064133%5E15306%5E%5Enbv%5E,00.html
>
>GRASSROOTS opposition to the federal Government's welfare services access card
>is building, with campaigners saying Joe Hockey's proposal, despite Government
>reassurances, is "indistinguishable from a national identity scheme".
>
>About 120 individuals and groups have made submissions on the draft access 
>card
>bill, released on December 13, even though the tight, one-month, public 
>comment
>period fell over the holidays.
>
>The Human Services minister plans to introduce the bill into federal 
>parliament
>next month, but the draft has been slammed as "seriously inadequate", with 
>many
>key issues to be decided later and included in a second round of legislation.
>
>Tim Warner, convenor of Access Card No Way, said the campaign now boasted "an
>active cadre of citizens to oppose this illiberal program", with volunteers in
>every state.
>
>"We believe that any national ID scheme is a tragic mistake," he said. "The
>inadequacies in this draft are deeply disturbing, given the enormous shift 
>this
>legislation represents.
>
>"No inquiry, no debate and certainly no parliamentary discussion has 
>occurred on
>whether anti-fraud measures require a national register. Instead, the 
>debate is
>over what sort of register should be introduced."
>
>Mr Warner said the draft was like a "Lego set", with many key aspects yet 
>to be
>decided and introduced by additional legislation or regulation.
>
>"The lackadaisical air is astounding," he said. "Oversight and governance, the
>interaction with existing entitlement systems and mechanisms for handling card
>suspensions and lost or stolen cards are fundamental to whether this will 
>be an
>intolerable yoke around every citizen's neck.
>
>"We need to know now what is intended and whether better ways can be found, or
>the whole proposal stopped, before huge sums of public money are diverted from
>worthwhile purposes."
>
>The "clear call for data extension at the whim of the minister or secretary"
>made public statements about the future of the card "meaningless and
>temporary", he said.
>
>The notion that people would own their cards was laughable, Mr Warner said.
>"Under the bill, one's own address, telephone number, email address and
>photograph are all declared Crown property.
>
>"Granting a meaningless property right in the card plastic is a very tawdry
>joke."
>
>Australian Privacy Foundation policy co-ordinator Nigel Waters said a key
>problem was that information was being "dripped out in instalments".
>
>"As a result, it's impossible to assess the complete package," he said. "A 
>great
>many important aspects have not been addressed to date, yet these are
>inextricably linked to whether the proposed system will work in accordance 
>with
>the stated aims.
>
>"For example, unless issues related to dependants and carers are dealt with,
>there's no way of telling if the system can deliver efficient and
>privacy-sensitive Medicare services to all citizens."
>
>Until draft legislation was provided on all issues central to the access 
>card's
>operation, there was no meaningful basis on which to assess the proposal.
>
>"It is therefore not appropriate to introduce any legislation until these
>matters have been dealt with," Mr Waters said. "The APF submits that the bill
>cannot be sent forward at this stage."
>
>Access Card Office chief technology architect Marie Johnson said the 
>legislation
>clearly spelled out that the card was not a national identity card.
>
>"There is no requirement for anyone to carry the card at all times, or to 
>use it
>for identity purposes other than to access health and social services 
>benefits,"
>she said.
>
>"The proposed legislation contains severe penalties of up to five years' jail
>for anyone else who demands it as a form of identity."
>
>Ms Johnson said the Government's release of the exposure draft "before 
>taking it
>directly to Parliament" demonstrated its commitment to wide community
>consultation.
>
>Welfare Rights Centre policy officer Gerard Thomas said the costs of 
>introducing
>the card were a problem.
>
>"If the costs rise beyond the $1.1 billion price-tag, as many suggest, 
>will the
>funding gap be met by cuts to services and programs vital to the very
>disadvantaged people for whom the card is essentially compulsory?" Mr Thomas
>asked.
>
>
>
>--
>Regards
>brd
>
>Bernard Robertson-Dunn
>Sydney Australia
>brd at iimetro.com.au
>
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